


Intensions

by WriterbyHeart



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries - L. J. Smith
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Romance, Sexual Tension, Sweet/Hot, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:13:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29419926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterbyHeart/pseuds/WriterbyHeart
Summary: After leaving with Stefan for the summer, Elena comes back home to test her feelings with Damon, and Bonnie is sent into the arms of a new man, much to Damon's dismay. "So are you planning on starting a harem with my two best friends or are you actually going to pick one?" Meredith asked casually.
Relationships: Bonnie McCullough/Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	1. Return

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my new story! I like to play around with all the Vampire Diaries elements and try new stuff between the characters, so its gonna be different than the last Bamon story I posted on here, yet similar because romance is much too tempting and kinda my thing....ok, very much my thing. Lol! Anyway, I'm super excited to introduce you guys to this new, weird dynamic I've got going on. So I hope you all enjoy it and stick with me until the end. :)

The blonde reflection’s lapis orbs rolled as she listened to Damon’s venting. His boots stomped back and forth across the old, wooden flooring of her bedroom as he paced. Irritation rose in her as she stared at herself in the mirror, the alabaster image mimicking her frustration perfectly. This was the third time this week that Damon had brought up Bonnie’s new boyfriend, or whatever he was. Honestly, she hadn’t paid too much attention with college classes becoming hectic. At this very moment, as she looked into the glass, she wished Damon had pretended to be a college student this year one more time. At least he would’ve had something to preoccupy him other than her best friend’s whereabouts. Then again, being over five hundred years old, he knew way too much already. Maybe college wouldn’t have anything new to offer him. As Elena stared into her own lapis eyes, she saw things swirling there that bothered her. Not just the obvious frustration she felt lingered there, turning the deep blue into darkened oceans. No. There was more. Something she didn’t want to touch on. It surged forward as Damon’s words beat on her sore eardrums. And she winced.

“You should’ve heard the way she was whining over this dumbass. She’s going to get hurt if she isn’t careful, Elena. …Elena?”

Slamming her hands down onto the porcelain counter, Elena twirled around to face the source of her frustration. Azure eyes ablaze, she walked into her room and crossed her arms forcefully, only partially doing so to keep pieces of her from breaking off and falling to the floor. Chest rising in a deep intake of much-needed oxygen, Elena attempted to calm herself before opening her mouth, “Why do you think she’ll get hurt? Eric seemed perfectly nice to me.”

The elder Salvatore scoffed, his midnight eyes following in a quick roll, “He’s up to no good. I would know.”

Elena bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, “Bonnie can handle herself, I’m sure.”

Damon stared at her silently, immobile aside from a slight raise of his brows. Elena couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled to the surface of her lips. Her laughter rang in the air, delighting Damon’s superhuman hearing with melodious tones. A smirk formed across his own mouth in response. “So you realize how ridiculous that statement was?” he chuckled, walking over to the bright, smiling girl of his dreams. He took her up in his strong arms, holding her close against his chest.

Wrapping long, slender arms around his narrow waist, Elena sighed as she rested against him, basking in the safety she felt in his embrace. “All I’m saying is that I’m sure she’ll be ok. It’s not like we all aren’t here for her. I mean, Meredith and I go to the same university as her and everything.”

“I just—”

Elena popped her head up to capture his lips in hers. Damon immediately succumbed to her, just like she loved. That soft rumble in his throat brought tingles to her skin as she deepened their kiss, tightening her arms around him. “I think you need to stop worrying about her so much.” Elena breathed against the needy lips desperately trying to recapture hers. Putting a finger up to his mouth, she flicked her eyes up to his, “She is capable of taking care of herself, Damon. She’s an adult, after all.”

Damon’s coal orbs rolled once again and Elena couldn’t help but admire how sexy the action looked gracing his sinfully angelic features. “Barely.” His lips moved against her finger.

A light chuckle burst from Elena’s lips as she pulled herself from Damon and went to her closet in search of something to wear for the day. As much as he made her happy, she couldn’t help the frown that pulled all the glee from her face.

“Anyway, I’m going to go grab a _bite_.” He accentuated the word teasingly, earning a warning look from his blonde princess.

Elena was glad when she heard his boots treading down the hall as he strode from her bedroom. Her throat felt tight as she swallowed and she let out a long breath. The shirt in her hands hung down as she dropped her arms to her sides, releasing all the pent-up stress taking hold of her body. In a single blink, tears rolled down her cheeks, much to her surprise. With one, quick sweep, Elena dried them up and steadied herself. There would be no crying over something silly. After all, green was not her color.

Downstairs, Damon strolled into the kitchen on his way to the cellar. His human teeth ground as Bonnie’s girly voice scraped against his sensitive ears. Small, flirtatious giggles bounced around the room, grating against every one of his nerves as he watched her twirl strawberry ringlets around a dainty digit. In her other hand, she held her cellphone up to her ear. Her rosebud lips smiled away as she lost herself in the annoying voice emanating from the opposite end of the phone. Damon could feel the detest contorting his lips into a notable grimace as the redhead leaned against the countertop, bouncing giddily as she did so.

“Hmm, I don’t know if I’d be able to come over tonight though. I have a lot of work to get done.” She whined into the receiver.

“Well why not do your work here? I could help you out.” Eric’s equally flirtatious tone suggested through the phone.

Bonnie bit down onto her lower lip as she contemplated her answer, “Well…maybe I cou—”

The small girl jumped as a hand suddenly snatched the phone from her grasp. She whipped around to see Damon with her phone at his ear, “Bonnie won’t be coming over tonight. She has a future to study for.”

Bonnie’s brown orbs nearly fell out of her head as she watched him hit the “End” button with nothing but a dastardly smirk on his lips. He slammed the phone down onto the counter beside her, snapping her out of her shock with a startle. Bonnie’s incredulous stare remained as she blinked unbelievably, shifting her gaze from the phone, to him, and back. “You—Y-You…” her chest rose and fell rapidly as the weight of his actions began to sink into her, forming a pit in her stomach. “You can’t just…”

“That was a private call!” she shouted, swinging her hand up to Damon’s gorgeously cocky face on instinct. Moments before impact, an iron grip locked around her wrist and pinned it against the counter. Before she had time to make any sort of comeback, her chocolate irises locked with his inky crystals and she froze, all too aware of how his body loomed over hers. He was dangerous, Bonnie knew it well, and she felt the fear course through her veins. But no matter how fearful of him she was, nothing ever stopped the other part of the poison from pouring into her bloodstream. And as she held onto the bits of anger being washed from her body, she felt it once more, the dreadful feeling that never ceased to exist. Disguising itself as fear was a sheer thrill that trickled into her body, alighting every nerve ending with some sort of wildfire that she could never tame.

“You’re really dense if you think he wanted to help you study.” Damon spat, unknowingly throwing gasoline onto the fire spreading throughout her slender frame.

With a vice grip on those broken pieces of anger, Bonnie geared up her response, “It’s none of your business what he wanted. It’s mine.”

Damon let her rip her wrist from his hand and she rubbed it as she continued, “Besides—if he didn’t want to help me, we could’ve just watched a movie or something.”

Bonnie watched as the older Salvatore’s brows furrowed, his dark eyes swirling with some strange mix of disbelief and…concern? Then her brows shot up as it hit her.

“Oh!” she blushed, and Damon couldn’t help but admire the light, rosy color that graced the apples of her round cheeks, only adding to her natural beauty. Her blood suddenly smelled extra appealing as a remedy for his stinging throat and he couldn’t keep himself from inhaling deeply as his tongue swiped languidly along his lower lip. Bonnie watched, almost in a trance, as Damon’s tongue left a wet trail in the wake of its path. Unintentionally, she took her bottom lip into her mouth and swallowed hard, wishing away the feelings stirring up within her core. Pulse pounding, the air around them transformed into something too heady for Bonnie to breathe easily and Damon concentrated on each strained breath as it entered and left her body.

Reaching up to the lip being tauntingly bitten between her teeth, he gently released it from its torture with the pad of his thumb. His mouth watered at the reddened state of the tender mound of flesh.

“You need to be careful who you let in…” he breathed, letting his thumb glide across the swollen lip begging to be taken in by his own.

Shivers shook the petite redhead almost violently as she reveled in Damon’s soft touch.

“Maybe you should be careful who you push away…” she mumbled, cuddling into Damon’s palm as it came up to cup her cheek.

Pressing his free palm against the opposite cheek, Damon cupped her face between his hands and turned it up to his, “I’m not pushing you away, baby.”

The low tone of his voice rumbled in Bonnie’s ears, making her head fuzzy as his fingers left her face and traveled back into her hair, tangling in its masses of curls. She tried and failed to keep herself from melting into his movements as he began to slowly massage her scalp. Face twisted up in disgust at her own weakness, she surrendered to his ministrations with a small whimper and flung herself into his chest. Circling her arms tight around his waist, Bonnie snuggled into the taut pectoral muscles cushioning her head. Much to her surprise, she felt his arms snake around her tiny form and hold her close. Long fingers continued their unfair assault of her hair, tangling in the curls as they ran along strawberry strands.

“Then stay with me. Like you used to. Read to me until I fall asleep. Like before.” Bonnie’s small voice nearly cried into him.

Damon’s hold on her tightened until he nearly crushed her, but she only wished him closer. “Bonnie…” he uttered in a tone just above a whisper, defeated and broken. She knew right then that anything they had before was lost.

“Things don’t have to be so different just because Elena is back, you know…”

“I’m not trying to make this—”

Bonnie cut him off once more, “But you haven’t spent time with me like that since.” She pulled back just enough to look at him. Damon nearly dropped to his knees as her teary eyes locked with his, long lashes clumped together like glimmering stars along the saddened amber gems. Something in Damon’s dead chest pulled, and he winced as she pressed herself ever closer, gaze never faltering from his all the while. “You used to talk to me, and laugh with me, and even kiss me sometimes.” She sniffed as a tear spilled over and trailed down her cheek.

The pull in Damon’s chest twisted as the forbidden images came forth, haunting him the same way they did in his dreams. They hadn’t kissed much or very many times before Elena had declared her break from Stefan. It had only been a few stolen kisses, mostly chaste, mostly quick, usually not even on the lips. Except for the last one; the one right before Elena showed back up at the boarding house door. That one was the one he had tried to repress the most because that was also the one that had stayed trapped in his head, tormenting him with its taste. His eyes betrayed him, falling to her lips before darting back up to a safer place on her face. Taking his fingers from her hair, he wiped away the tear tainting her beautiful complexion.

“You can kiss me again…” Bonnie trailed off, seeing the slow shake of Damon’s head begin, “if you…want…” she ended, eyes dropping to their bodies pressed flush against one another’s.

She stepped back from his embrace, and Damon let his arms slide from around her warmth until he felt the emptiness brought about by her departure. With a quick sniffle, Bonnie wiped more tears from her face and grabbed her cellphone off the counter. Without granting him a single glance more, she hid her face beneath her hair as she brushed passed him on her way out of the kitchen. Damon jerked a hand out to grab her involuntarily but halted himself halfway. Fisting his fingers, he flinched as one last smack of her flip-flop against the tile rang in his ears. What would be his goal when he caught her? Keep watching as she broke? Make empty promises? Kiss her? …No.

With a low growl, Damon fisted shot down into the cellar and ripped open the stash of blood bags in the freezer, burying his fangs deep in the fresh blood. Falling back against the wall as he held tight to his sloshy sustenance, mental imagery ran wild behind closed eyes. Each gulp took him further into his daze. Her warmth was there, tight against him. Her neck was exposed to him, fangs piercing deep into her pale flesh, heated blood pouring down his throat. It tasted like her, like flowers and honey and everything sweet that she embodied.

Vampiric crystals flying open, Damon threw the emptied blood bag to the dusty ground and thrust his hands over the veiny pits of black succumbing to the bloodthirsty creature inside him. Curling his fingers in tight, he willed the unwanted images away until they dissipated, taking his primal form away with them. With the tightness in his chest fading, he took a long breath and sighed. A small smile tugged at the edges of his lips as he heard Elena’s footsteps walking along the floor above him.

“Damon?” she called, and he loved the way his name sounded on her tongue.

With a clear mind, he licked the blood from his lips and whooshed up to Elena. The tension in his body eased as he took her into his arms, her giggles like music in his ears as he playfully nipped at her throat.

As he sat on the red, velvet couch that evening, a pair of headlights shined through the curtains, alighting the dim room in a slow sweep. Damon stiffened, coal eyes trained on the window where he saw a deep blue truck sparkling beneath the automatic flood light outside. The dim room grew even darker as Damon’s eyes narrowed. Gritting his teeth, he watched as a lanky, young man pulled a phone from somewhere Damon couldn’t quite see and began typing away. A small squeal sounded from upstairs and his eyes shifted to the stairs just before excited feet dashed down the steps. Throwing the book in his hands down onto the antique coffee table with a loud thud, Damon was on his feet in seconds as he rushed to catch the giddy bundle of red hair practically vibrating in anticipation.

His fingers wound around Bonnie’s upper arm like snakes coiling around their prey. Wide brown eyes turned on him and all excitement bringing light to her face dropped into a worried frown. Damon would have laughed at the pout she wore like a reprimanded child if not for the fury burning beneath his skin. “Where do you think you’re going?” his gaze dropped to her body, clad in a fitted crop top and high waisted joggers, and the burn ignited, singeing up every one of his remaining nerves.

“Out.” Bonnie replied shortly, attempting a weak tug of her arm from his grip.

Damon only tightened his fingers and pulled her in front of him, making himself a barrier between her and the front door. “Didn’t we discuss this earlier? I said no!” he barked, leaning nearer her face.

Tears flooded Bonnie’s chocolate orbs as she stared up into Damon’s commanding gaze. With his fingers digging into her arm, and his dark form towering over her, she felt helpless against him, inferior to the power he exerted over her. Even so, swallowing the lump in her throat, she refused to back down. What was he going to do? Hurt her?

“We didn’t discuss anything” giving it all her strength, she yanked her arm from his grip, “you eavesdropped on my conversation.” With a huff, she crossed her arms over her chest, “I don’t take orders from vampires!”

“What is going on?!”

Bonnie whirled around just as Damon snapped his head up. Elena stood at the top of the stairs, hands gripping the railing as if she may break it. Something in Bonnie ripped and the tears in her eyes betrayed her, trickling down flushed cheeks. Elena’s defiant stomps drew nearer as she descended the stairs and Bonnie quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand.

“Let’s see…” Damon, toned arms folded over his chest, peeked around the corner to look at a wall clock too far for human eyes to see, “It’s ten thirty at night and Bonnie’s trying to hop in the car with a guy she barely knows!”

Bonnie turned on him, eyes narrowed, and stomped her foot, “I do know him! We’ve been hanging out for almost a month!” Her heated gaze bore into his, liquid amber gems fighting against the midnight jewels burning up in black flames. “Elena, tell him!”

The model-esque blonde stepped forward and put her arm around Bonnie’s shoulders in support, “Eric’s a nice guy, Damon. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

“Bonnie will call if she needs us,” Elena’s gaze flicked to Damon, dark and dangerous as his fierce stare never left Bonnie. She swallowed hard and looked back to her best friend, offering a supportive squeeze, “…won’t you?”

Bonnie turned to her and she offered her troubled friend the most convincing smile she could muster. Luckily, the little redhead returned the sentiment, but Elena could see the sadness in her eyes dimming the light that normally shined there.

“Fine!” Damon snapped, startling both girls as they whipped their heads back toward him.

“Let’s go see Bonnie off with this stranger, shall we?”

Before either girl could say a thing, Damon was stomping out of the front door. The two friends shared a concerned glance before going after the eldest Salvatore already three steps ahead of them.

“Damon!” Elena called, her voice getting lost in the commotion as Bonnie ran ahead and pulled at Damon’s arm, begging him not to do whatever he was planning. He shook her off, stalking ahead like a bull after a red flag. Panic struck Elena as they rounded the corner of the driveway. A few more steps and Eric would be able to see each one of them. Her thoughts raced, thinking of a million different scenarios and how she could combat each one. She couldn’t risk Eric being scared away.

Bonnie nearly crashed into Damon’s back as he halted dead in his tracks at the driver’s side window, his signature smirk plastered across his face. Huffing slightly from the brisk walk, Bonnie darted nervous eyes between the two men in her life, praying that the ground would break open and swallow her whole. Every nerve in her body shook as she attempted to offer Eric an apologetic smile from her place at Damon’s side.

Elena stood back a few feet, thinking of ways to diffuse the situation if things went south. She shivered slightly as the night air spread chills across her bare arms. She hugged them to herself, wishing Damon was the one keeping her warm. And then Eric rolled the window down.

Damon shot his hand into the car and grinned, “Name’s Damon. Eric, right?”

The dirty blonde with messy hair and tanned skin placed a wary hand in Damon’s and winced as the raven-haired man clamped his fingers tight around his own and shook it almost violently. Eric tried his best not to let his discomfort show as he endured the painful handshake. Looking over the strange man trying to break his hand, lengthy, disheveled waves, mysterious eyes, and a crooked, pearly smile had him suddenly apprehensive. “Elena’s boyfriend, I assume?” Eric asked through a strained tone as the handshake ended and the bones in his hand cramped.

Damon shot Bonnie a quizzical look and she only glanced at him briefly before turning back to Eric and trying her best to wedge her slight body in between Damon and the car door. Eric had no idea how much danger he was in.

“It’s complicated.” Damon snapped.

Eric flipped a skinny finger between Bonnie and Damon, “You live with him?”

Bonnie’s eyes widened, “Uh-Uhm, well, I mean—”

“She rooms here with her friends because it’s close to the university. My brother and I, we just happen to own the place.” Damon answered smoothly.

Eric nodded, eyes still weary beneath bushy brows as he looked to Bonnie.

A wicked grin pulled a corner of Damon’s mouth up. His eyes glittered with mischief as he picked up on Eric’s insecurity. Lifting his arm, he placed it around Bonnie’s shoulders and pulled her close into his side. His smirk widened as the tension locking her body up began to loosen as she leaned into him for support. He glanced down at her only briefly, seeing how her line of sight lingered on anything other than him or Eric. Looking back up to the bothered boy now staring at the arm around Bonnie like it was a vile creature, he began, “But hey, I’ll let you get out of here. It was great meeting you.”

“Likewise.” Eric said, voice strained as he pictured having to shake Damon’s hand once again.

Bonnie slipped from under Damon’s arm and began walking around to the passenger door. A sigh of relief left her lips as she passed the headlights, casting a small shadow against the bricks of the house.

“Make sure you drive safe…” Bonnie heard Damon continue. She winced for Eric as she heard the slap of Damon’s hand against his, taking it into another unnecessarily rough grip. They were almost out of here now.

“On your way back home.” Damon finished and suddenly the locks on the truck clicked.

Bonnie’s mouth went slack and she looked up to Eric through the window to see a dazed look in his eyes.

“Damon!” Elena reprimanded from somewhere far off.

The truck backed out of the driveway, and Bonnie wished it would roll her over as it went. She watched as Eric, half in a trance, performed his driving duties perfectly, and then drove off down the long, winding road. Her cheeks boiled as the truck disappeared from her view, leaving her behind with the monster imprisoning her heart. Hot tears welled up in her eyes as she slowly turned to Damon, only a truck’s width away from her, smirking deviously, entirely proud of his actions.

“I told you… _no_.” the glint in his eyes was dark, dangerous. It was a warning not to defy him.

Letting out a small yelp of frustration, vengeful tears rolled down Bonnie’s face as she stomped forwards, closing the gap between herself and Damon. Arms out in front of her, she shoved Damon with all the energy she had, impacting him with a hard smack. Damon remained motionless as he stared down at Bonnie with a nonchalance that threw gasoline on the fire burning inside her. The slight girl stumbled backwards, crying softly. “You can’t do that! You can’t just compel people!” Bonnie yelled.

Winding up to slap the nonchalance right off his arrogant face, she swung her hand hard. But the impact never came. Instead, her arm came to an abrupt stop as Damon caught her wrist in his hand. A frustrated cry broke through Bonnie’s plump lips as Damon’s face bent down to be level with hers, eyes piercing into hers, “You’re lucky it wasn’t you.”

Ripping her wrist from his grasp she held her hands in fists at her sides. “You wouldn’t compel me,” she challenged.

“Keep acting up. I will.” He glowered.

“Do it, then!” Bonnie countered, chest heaving with each anxious breath.

Damon stared at her. She watched his eyes flick between either of hers. His nostrils flared. The muscles in his jaw clenched. And then he growled angrily, seething as his gaze faltered. Through the wrath, Bonnie could see how his eyes drowned in the weakness he held for her.

“That’s what I thought.” She spat, another sob breaking through heavy breaths, and she stormed back into the boarding house.

Elena restrained herself from reaching out for Bonnie as she passed without a single glance. Deep blue crystals turned towards Damon, still standing in place as if he had just been staked at the heart. As she studied him, still but shaking with pent up rage, staring into nothingness, fists white-knuckled at his sides, a lump formed in her throat. A sob rose in her throat but got caught and she choked silently. Labored breaths made her chest rise and fall. Not even _she_ could deny their connection. She only hoped theirs was stronger.

Damon broke, then from his enraged stupor and he strode passed her.

“Damon…” she called softly, her voice reaching deaf ears as the shoulder of his black shirt brushed her arm. Elena sighed into the cool darkness surrounding her, letting it into her lungs to calm her nerves, ease her mind, still her heart…

She was in for a long night.

Crawling into her bed, Elena let out an exhausted breath as she snuggled into Damon’s bare chest. With one long finger, she traced ovals along his pectorals, memorizing how his skin felt beneath her fingertip. Smooth and flawless. Her gaze lingered on the motions she made, but her thoughts drifted into the depths of her mind.

“What’s on your mind?” Damon’s soft voice broke into her daze. His fingers, gentle and caring, stroked the silky strands of her hair, bringing delightful shivers down her back. But the thoughts persisted.

“It scares me.” She began, pressing her palm flat against Damon’s chest, feeling the slow, undead pulse drumming beneath her hand.

Dark brows knitted together over worried eyes, as Damon looked down to the angelic woman on his breast, “What scares you?”

With a deep, steady breath to counter her weary tongue, she went on, “The effect she has on you…”

There was a pause—and the air in the room filled with tension. But Damon remained silent. Unable to gage his reaction, Elena lifted up to see his face twisted up in denial. His head began to shake back and forth slightly. Elena spoke, snatching his opportunity to become defensive, “Bonnie was able to hurt you—so easily. That worries me.”

Taking her face in his hands, his fingers glided through silvery strands, tucking it behind her ears lovingly as he looked over concerned features, “Princess, no. No, I was just angry, that’s all. It takes a lot more than the likes of Bonnie McCullough to hu—”

Elena took his hands in hers, stilling them and taking them from her face, “Don’t act like she’s nothing to you.” Lapis eyes bore into his in their silence. His inky orbs held only denial, but she could see the fissures travelling along the walls he kept built high around his heart. “You care about her.” She stated, tone sure and steady. Damon sighed loudly, eyes falling to his lap in defeat. Elena leaned forward, attempting to recapture his gaze. “Maybe more than you care to admit…” she suggested cautiously, unsure of where the line was drawn.

Damon raked a hand through disheveled locks and then turned fierce eyes on her, “Of course I fucking care about her, Elena!” He watched as her oceanic eyes began to fill with water, drowning in the heartbreak he felt on a daily basis. “You left…with _Stefan_. And Bonnie—she…” he trailed off, images of their last kiss pulling him from the present.

Blinking back the tears, Elena pushed the dreadful words from her mouth to form an even worse sentence, “What happened between the two of you?”

The muscles in his jaw strained, and Damon turned sorrowful eyes on hers, “We…” he sighed, shaking his head. His tongue refused to let him downplay the situation. He couldn’t lie to her. “I…” he corrected, “I kissed her.” He popped his shoulders up in a harsh shrug, only able to offer apologetic eyes.

But Elena seemed impervious to the impact of Damon’s answer as she pressed on, unwavering and confident, “Like you wanted it, or because you needed it?”

Chest tightening, Damon nearly choked on all the words trying to burst from his throat. He wanted to tell her it was ok, that there was nothing to worry about. He needed her to believe him, to stop looking at him like she was about to break. But she was staring at him so intensely, daring him to lie while daring him to tell her the truth all at once. He winced, unable to tell her anything at all. Their eyes battled, one pair searching for forbidden information while the other blocked with shattered shields. And somewhere in the middle, the teary-eyed blonde found her answer in Damon’s hesitation.

The apologetic vampire watched as the dam broke and droplets streamed down Elena’s cheeks. Sobs erupted from her throat as she hung her head, bringing her hands up to meet the stormy oceans raging inside lapis crystals. Damon sighed hard through his nose and let his eyes fall shut.

“What can I do to make this better?” he asked, letting his face fall into his hands.

“Nothing!” Elena shouted over her tears and then softer, “There’s nothing to do. It was before I came back, and besides—we’re not even dating. I told you I wasn’t ready and that hasn’t changed. You’re free to do what you want.”

Lifting his face from his hands, Damon turned to her, taking up her damp cheeks between his palms and wiping tear tracks away with his thumbs, “I told you I wanted to be with you. Whether that meant sleeping in your bed or dreaming of you in mine. I want to be here for you. I’m trying to be here for you!”

The remnants of Elena’s tears slipped down her cheeks as her eyes flickered between either of Damon’s, “And you have been. But part of you wants to be there for her too, and that’s the problem…I let you move on. It’s my fault this happened!” A choked cry broke through her lips, “And the worst part is I can’t even be mad because it’s Bonnie, and she’s amazing and—”

Damon hushed her cries, caressing her face with soft swipes of his thumbs, “I love _you”_ he reassured her.

“What if that’s not enough?” she questioned, her voice quiet, fearful as she looked upon him.

Damon drew her into him, running his fingers along the lengthy strands of ivory as they embraced, “It will be.”


	2. Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter here, but the drama is just getting started...

_Damon…_

The groggy vampire stirred in his sleep.

_Damon…_

Inhaling deeply, Damon’s eyes shot open and he stretched, careful not to disturb the lovely blonde sleeping cozily next to him. The way the sunlight peaked in through the blinds and illuminated her hair with an angelic glow never ceased to dazzle him.

Looking around the room with a knitted brow, he wondered briefly if he was going crazy. He had heard something—someone?—calling his name. Hadn’t he? But it was so faint, so far away. Like a whisper tickling…no, not his ears, his mind?

_Damon…_

He picked up the soft tone easily now and recognized it instantly. Bonnie. Sitting up against the headboard, Damon rubbed a hand over his face and answered.

_Bonnie?_

He waited a moment, tuned in closely for a response.

_Damon…_

The tone remained unchanged. Too soft, too lazy to be responding to him.

Carefully pulling himself from under the sheets, Damon put his supernatural feet to the floor and sped from the bedroom without a sound. He stood in the hallway, slowly padding along to Bonnie’s room. The closer he got, the more he felt like he should turn back. Some strange sense of danger lurked in his core, alluring him just as much as it conjured guilt. And then his hand was on the oak-paneled door that opened up into her bedroom. He knocked softly, not keen on the possibility of waking Meredith, whose bedroom was directly across the hall.

“Bonnie?” Damon whispered, turning the knob and cracking the door.

A small sound of stretching danced into his sensitive ears as Bonnie shifted in her bed. Was this some kind of game?! Irritation bubbling up to his surface, Damon let out a lengthy sigh, his hand gripping tighter on the doorknob.

_Damon…_

The call came again, louder, yet still in the same gentle voice. And Damon had had enough. Barging quietly into her bedroom, he struggled to hold his irrational tongue as he closed the door behind him softly.

Walking into the entryway and rounding the corner, confrontational words nearly burst from his mouth until he saw her. Fast asleep. His brows stitched closer over curious obsidian orbs as he examined her. She had kicked her comforter off so that it only covered her feet. Lying partially on her stomach, Damon’s line of sight followed her pale skin from calf up to—his unnatural breath caught in his throat as his gaze drifted over her bottom, barely clad in cheeky, pink underwear and peeking out from beneath…

A deep growl rumbled in his throat, fists clenching as he saw the striking black of his t-shirt blanketing her small frame. When had she—

Damon halted his own question as those pesky, unwelcome images played out in his mind. Her delicate fingers tracing the skin beneath his shirt, sparking his nerves with unjust tastes of pleasure. And then his fingers were at the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it to the floor just as he reclaimed her lips in a searing kiss—

Damon shoved the images back and unclenched the fingers digging into his palms as the torturous memories retreated from view. He had left one of his shirts here that night. She had had it ever since. He itched to know how often she wore it, and if the rest of her body was bare beneath.

_Damon…_

Her projection hit him loud and clear, derailing his gutter-targeted train of thought. Damon studied her, happily sleeping in his clothes, one hand clutching the collar of the shirt as if it were him inside it and not her. Was she dreaming of him? He sauntered closer until he stood at the side of her bed. Messy curls were scattered all over her face. Reaching down, Damon skimmed a fingertip along her cheek bone, brushing away the hair that kept him from seeing how beautiful she was when she slept.

She stirred, taking in a long breath as her eyes fluttered open. Damon let his hand drop from her face but remained rooted to her bedside, unaffected as her eyes landed on him.

A short scream burst through her lips at the sight of him standing over her, and she scrambled for the blankets to cover herself with. But Damon’s fingers hooked around them before she could tuck them to herself and yanked them back down. With an ease that unnerved her, the ominous vampire sat down in front of her. He locked his eyes with hers, causing her heart to beat erratically as she waited impatiently for his reaction. Eerily, his head tilted to the side, intrusive, inky eyes never releasing hers. They narrowed and she held her breath.

“Did you know you project in your sleep?” He questioned smugly.

Bonnie’s amber orbs widened, and she gulped. “I-I do?” she squeaked, pounding pulse pushing blood to her cheeks.

Damon pulled one knee to his chest and rested an arm on it, “Mmm. You kept calling my name.”

“So you barged into my room?!”

He held up a halting finger, “Ah! I knocked first,” then shrugged, “not my fault you didn’t answer.”

“I was _asleep_!” Bonnie’s voice rose incredulously.

Damon leaned closer, eyes narrowing into dangerous slits, “So was I.”

The small redhead, feeling microscopic, swallowed hard, “I didn’t mean to wake you up, ok?”

Damon’s eyes finally released hers, falling tantalizingly over her body. Bonnie felt the heat rise further in her face as she became overly self-aware of how her boobs poked out through the thin fabric. She knew he could hear how her heartbeat thrummed at his presence, and that fact both embarrassed and scared her. She was no novice to what he was, what he could do…

Damon’s gaze seemed to linger on her chest before he looked over her flushed face, flicking a finger out towards her, “And you steal my clothes now?”

Bonnie clamped her arms over her chest, “I didn’t steal it! You left it here…or had you forgotten?” her tone turned solemn.

Damon held back the memory threatening to make its way to the forefront of his mind. Releasing a long breath, he fell back into the bed, one foot touching the floor. “No, I haven’t forgotten,” he answered easily.

For the first time, Bonnie felt free from her place under Damon’s magnifying glass and her gaze landed on his chest, bare and muscular. Her fingers twitched in her lap, begging to touch him again. However, she was fairly certain that privilege had been revoked. Nevertheless, her eyes travelled from his pectorals, along his abdominals, and down to the very promiscuous obliques stealing the show. She took her lower lip between her teeth, trying hard to ignore the bulge in her peripheral vision, but her eyes betrayed her, drifting further. They lingered there just a second too long, and when she forced her gaze back up to his face, a very haughty smirk was painted across his lips.

“I have to say, Miss McCullough, I’m feeling extremely violated right now. I’m more than an object for you to sexualize,” Damon mocked in his best “offended” voice, and then turned to her, mischief lighting his dark eyes.

Bonnie’s embarrassment faded and she melted at his satirical side. He didn’t joke often, at least not without being sarcastic or subtly mean, but Bonnie had found this side of him coming out often during their weeks together over the summer. He had been playful with her, and every time a teasing smile would appear on his lips and his eyes would lighten. She had quickly grown to love this side of him, taking every opportunity to bring it out. But since Elena had returned, her chances had grown slim. His mood had changed and now she only got him when he was being grumpy over anything and everything.

As she stared at him, she couldn’t help the smile that spread its way across her lips, and she giggled at his mimicry. Looking back down to his chest, she began absentmindedly tracing the outlines of his abs with the pad of her finger. She got down to ab number four when Damon’s hand slid overtop of hers. Her breath caught, positive of the trouble she was about to be in, but then he was dragging her hand up slowly. Line of sight following their hands as he guided her splayed fingers over his chest, her gaze shot up to his face as she heard a low groan escape his lips, and his eyes were rolling into the back of his head.

“Damon, I don’t think we sh—” her breathy voice was interrupted as pulled her onto his lap and shot upwards, nose brushing hers.

His fingers came up on either side of her face, burying into her curls, “Should what? We aren’t doing anything.” He spoke huskily, dark gaze trained on her lips as he nearly brushed them with his own.

Contrasting blonde hairs flashed in Bonnie’s muddled mind, one pale and milky, the other mixed and sandy. Guilt rose up in her, settling in the pit of her stomach. But her aching body was wrapping around his, fingers tangling in the soft, raven locks waving down the back of his neck.

“B-But…” her voice trailed off into a soft moan as she felt his lips just beneath her jaw, kissing the skin there.

The kiss ended, and Bonnie could barely breathe as his lips persisted, moving along her jaw line in slow, sloppy motions. Her breaths hastened as his mouth fastened around her flesh and sucked. Small whimpers fell from her lips as she tightened her arms around his neck, a hand fisting in the back of his silky strands. Her vision swirled as one of Damon’s hands left her hair and slid up the side of her bare thigh. Fire rushed through her veins, and she couldn’t stop herself from leaning her head back to let Damon drag his tongue along the front of her throat. The slow-traveling hand along her thigh pushed further, gliding beneath the thin t-shirt. She gasped, feeling his hand, flat against her skin, run along the length of her bare back.

“Kiss me.” The breathless words fell from her lips without warning, startling even her. Before she could feel any level of embarrassment, her back hit the bed. Damon was on top of her in seconds, settling his hips between hers. The hunger swirled like hurricanes in the darkness of his eyes and Bonnie was lost in the storm as his mouth dove for hers.

The shrill ring of a nearby smartphone rang, halting Damon’s lips centimeters from hers. Bonnie jumped, but her lips stayed parted beneath his, desperate to feel his mouth on hers. His heavy breaths hit her tongue, dripping with desire as they washed over her tastebuds. With a short huff, Damon licked his lips and nudged her nose with his affectionately. With a shaky hand, Bonnie reached out to her side in search of the buzzing phone she wished would disappear. Frustration etched across his features, Damon let out a small groan and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

Grasping the cold case of her cellphone, hazy chocolate irises glossed over the screen and immediately hit the green, “accept” button as Damon’s breath against her throat raised goosebumps across her skin. He nipped at her neck, nuzzling into it, and she bit her lip to keep from moaning as she brought the phone to her ear.

“He-Hello?” she stuttered, trying her best to make her voice sound normal.

“What’s up?” Eric’s voice sounded cockily and the fog in Bonnie’s mind vanished as her heavy-lidded eyes shot open into large, brown saucers.

She felt every muscle in Damon’s body stiffen and fear coursed through her.

“Hang. Up.” Damon growled in her ear.

“Uhm…” she hummed into the receiver, unsure of which path to take.

Without moving an inch from her, Damon’s hand shot up to the wrist tilting her phone to her ear and locked tight around it. Bonnie’s heart skipped as he pinned her wrist down to the bed roughly, knocking her phone from her grasp. The smart device bounced from the bed, hitting the floor with a loud smack.

“Bonnie? Hello?” Eric’s distant voice sounded from the fallen phone.

Anger sizzled beneath Bonnie’s skin and she shoved Damon off her. The annoyed vampire rolled onto his back and watched as the petite redhead in _his_ clothes crawled off the bed and snatched up her phone from the floor, answering some dickhead that wasn’t him.

“Sorry about that! I dropped my phone.” Bonnie lied easily, putting on her best chipper tone.

Distractedly, she watched as Damon hoisted himself up and stood from her bed. The skin between her brows creased. He couldn’t leave. Not yet! Eric had begun to ramble on about something unimportant on the other end of the phone.

“Hey, Eric! Can you hold on a second?” She interrupted, not bothering to wait for his response as she pressed the “hold” button on her screen.

Tossing her phone down onto the mattress, she sped after Damon, catching him by the arm and pulling. She heard his huff as he stopped and looked down at her. Turning large, chocolate eyes on him, she plead, “Please stay for a minute?”

“I’ve stayed long enough; I have to—" Damon’s words caught in his throat as Bonnie popped onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

He tensed as desire shot through his veins, his primal nature rattling violently in its cage. Stiffly, he brought a hand up to Bonnie’s face, caressing her temple with his thumb as the rest of his lengthy fingers lost themselves in her curls. Dark brows knitting together in agony, Damon exercised the max of his control as he let her lips dance along his in the most tantalizing way he could fathom. His blood felt like molten lava as he tried to contain the heat slowly melting his willpower into ashes.

Her lips released his as she dropped back onto her heels and he breathed a sigh of relief. But as her fingers drifted along his stomach, something dangerous stirred within him and he caught her hand, stopping its movements on his skin. Desirous amber irises turned up to him, striking him with their beauty. Slender arms reached up to him, and Damon knew like clockwork what she wanted. He hesitated, feeling his careful control diminishing.

When she spoke, her words came out brokenly through her breathy tone, and his precautions began to crack.

“I was dreaming about kissing you again. When I projected to you. I can’t stop thinking about—” he hoisted her up into his arms then, if only to silence her.

Without hesitation, she wound her arms around his neck and locked her ankles behind his back. Damon groaned inwardly, strength wavering on toothpicks of stilts. Her small sniffle broke him from his own test of will and he saw the tears trailing down her cheeks. Shifting her light weight onto one arm, Damon trailed the backs of his fingers along her face, attempting to dry her tears.

“I’ve been trying. But it won’t go away!” she cried harder and Damon rushed them into her adjoining bathroom and sat her down on the countertop. Pulling tissues from the box beside them, he handed them to her but she only clung to him, letting her tears flow free. Droplets ran down his skin, absorbing into the waistband of his joggers.

“I know it’s probably different for you, but I can’t just turn it off. I’m not a vampire, I—"

Taking her face in his hands, he tilted her head up and stared into her drowning pools of unfulfilled desires, “I know, redbird, I know…”

And he felt her body relax against him, tranquil in the knowledge that she was understood. He let his forehead rest against hers and she sucked in a sharp breath between tiny sobs.

Letting his eyes fall shut, his thumbs caressed her cheeks before sliding down her arms to her hands, where he interlaced their fingers, “You think it’s easier for me because I’m not human? Bonnie, I have heightened senses, I remember things you can’t even imagine.”

Bonnie’s cheeks burned brighter.

“I never meant to pull you into this stuff with me and Elena. I’m just…trying to figure things out between us.” Damon said softly, staring down at her multi-color painted toenails dangling above the floor.

Bonnie nodded against him, “I know.”

There was a moment more between them, and they lingered in it, basking in one another’s presence.

“You should get back to Elena, I’m gonna hop in the shower.”

Damon hummed at the thought, reluctant to leave as he brushed his nose across hers. Bonnie craned her neck upwards, taking his lips in one last kiss. The dazed vampire reacted quickly, smashing his lips against hers as he rubbed circles into the backs of her hands. They broke, and he placed a few lingering kisses along her cheek, and then one to her hand before stepping back from her.

“By the way, you might want to take Eric off hold.” Damon shot over his shoulder and then sped back to her best friend’s bedroom.

“Oh no!” Bonnie gasped as she rushed out of the bathroom and scrambled for her phone.


	3. Accidents

Dressed for the day in a beige cardigan and dark skinny jeans, Bonnie skipped downstairs where Damon was cooking breakfast for the girls.

“You’re in quite the cheery mood!” Meredith noted, still groggy.

Bonnie took the seat opposite Meredith and laughed at the way she was slumped onto the table looking half-awake.

“Was someone out with Alaric all night again?” Bonnie questioned suggestively.

Meredith smiled widely through her fatigue, “Why yes someone was,” She stated proudly.

Bonnie giggled and made a teasing “ooo” noise that brought a short laugh from Meredith’s mouth. The dark-haired girl smiled brightly at her small friend, catching something red on her neck as she casually turned her gaze back over to Damon—wait! Meredith’s emerald gems darted back over to Bonnie’s neck, doing a double take, and her smile dropped entirely, “You weren’t with Eric last night, were you?”

Bonnie blushed a light pink, twisting a strand of her hair between two nervous fingers, “No, why?”

Meredith stretched further across the table and gestured Bonnie forwards. The apprehensive redhead leaned close to her cat-eyed friend, chocolate orbs growing more concerned by the second.

“Then you might want to cover that up before Elena sees…” Meredith suggested, pushing a finger against the circular, red love-bite at the base of Bonnie’s throat.

Bonnie’s eyes bulged as she gasped, slapping a hand over the place she had felt Meredith’s finger poke.

“I take it Damon finally paid you a visit?” her olive-skinned friend wiggled her perfect, brown brows flirtatiously.

“Gooood morning everyone!” Elena’s bright voice rang through the kitchen. Bonnie and Meredith whipped their heads to the left, seeing the leggy blonde practically skip into the room.

The two girls looked back to each other as Elena headed in Damon’s direction. Meredith’s brows rose, silently asking the jittery redhead across from her if the awkwardness she felt in the air was warranted. Bonnie shook her head at Meredith and grabbed a chocolate chip cookie from the center of the table, taking a huge bite and targeting her eyes at her lap. Meredith sunk back into her seat, her sights never leaving Bonnie, who chewed in long, slow bites as if she were only half-present. Yep, the awkward tension hanging in the air definitely had a purpose. She really needed to get back with Alaric about moving in with him…

Elena walked up to Damon, poking at some scrambled eggs with a silicone spatula. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she hugged him. Damon’s arm came around her easily, tugging her close. With a small pout turning down her cupid’s bow lips, she turned sad lapis eyes up at him, “Where have you been all morning? I missed you.”

Meredith looked to Bonnie just in time for the redhead’s eyes to meet hers from underneath an anxious brow. Taking in a deep breath, Bonnie brought jittery hands up towards her mouth and took a hasty bite of her cookie, averting her gaze from Meredith’s. The green-eyed girl quirked a corner of her mouth up as she analyzed the situation through judgmental lenses.

“I got hungry, so I came down here and then I just got caught up reading something.” Damon lied easily, keeping his gaze firm on the sizzling eggs.

Elena’s pout disappeared and she perked up slightly, “Oh! What did you read?”

“Uhh…” Damon’s brows furrowed as he flipped the stove off and turned to put the spatula in the sink, easily slipping from the inquisitive blonde’s grasp. As he rinsed the steaming spatula off under the cooling water, his eyes caught sight of Meredith, one elbow on the table, chin in hand, and the snarkiest smirk plastered across her lips. “Uhh…” he began again, his mind frantically searching for something clever as he flung the water off his hands.

“Can’t remember?” Elena giggled softly from behind him.

“Oh, I’m sure he remembers…” Meredith inserted.

Damon’s narrowed gaze returned to her emerald slits and he threw up his middle finger at her before giving his hands one last shake over the sink. Meredith’s smug smile widened slowly across her face. Turning judgmental eyes back onto Bonnie, she was met with the tops of Bonnie’s knees as the redheaded ball of nerves had rolled herself up and sunk down shamefully into her chair, still chewing away on her half-eaten cookie.

Damon caught sight of a magazine lying in his periphery vision and nodded to it, “It was some article out of that magazine. Nothing crazy. I was just bored.” He turned to her after drying his hands off, leaning casually against the counter with a suave smirk.

“Well,” Elena pushed off the opposite counter and walked towards him once more, winding her arms around him, “next time you get bored you can always come back to my room, you know…”

Damon smiled down at her and pulled her into his chest, resting his cheek against the crown of her head, “I know, princess. I’m sorry.” And he was sorry as he let out a long breath that fanned over some stray golden threads along her pin-straight locks. He was sorry that he didn’t return to her room. He was sorry that he went into Bonnie’s room rather than running straight back into her bed. He regretted spending the morning nurturing the obstacles between them instead of mending her sore heart.

“The eggs are done!” he called to the two silent girls behind him and Elena bounced from his arms, eying the scrambled eggs hungrily.

Meredith flattened both hands atop the table as she stood, pushing her chair back. She leaned down towards Bonnie, seeing the sadness pooling in her amber eyes, “I’ve got your plate.”

Bonnie looked up at her gratefully, “Thank you.”

“Mhm!” Meredith hummed, letting her nails slide off the edge of the wooden table.

Everyone gathered around the table with plates of food except for Damon. Meredith sat Bonnie’s plate down in front of her and she sat up, tucking red ringlets behind one ear. Elena sat her plate down on Bonnie’s left and happily pulled out the chair next to her petite friend. Meredith’s smile dropped entirely as her butt hit the seat and her eyes landed on the bright crimson splotch on Bonnie’s throat. Her wide gaze shifted to Elena, smiling as she settled into her chair. Tapping the tip of her boot to Bonnie’s leg under the table, the redhead looked up to her, brows pulling over unhappy eyes. Meredith made a pointed gesture, running her fingers through the untucked brunette locks at the left side of her face. Bonnie’s brows pulled tighter as she reached a hesitant hand up to the curls on her left. Her fingers just brushed her hair as Elena froze beside her, staring at something she couldn’t see.

“Is that a hickey?” Elena questioned.

Bonnie’s eyes bulged as she stared at Meredith, her soundless signal finally clicking. Her brain berated her as it went into panic mode, frantically trying to find all the answers while fighting to conceal its own fright. Meredith nodded in front of her, giving her somewhere to begin.

“Uh, yeah—yes! Mhm!” she answered, untucking her hair from behind her ear too late.

Chocolate orbs filling with tears, Bonnie clenched her fingers around her fork in attempt to keep her from trembling as her nerves went wild. She felt as if she were being swallowed whole as her heart pounded out of her chest. Training her eyes on the eggs and toast in front of her she bit down onto the trembling lip threatening to make her cry.

Damon cast intense eyes on her from his seat at the head of the table. His ears anchored onto the sound of her racing heart; she was crumbling under the pressure. Through supernatural sight, he could see the tiny tremors rolling through her body as she fought not to let them shake her rigid posture and give her away.

“Were you with Eric last night?” he asked, sounding irritated as he played his part while guiding her into hers.

Brown gems flicked to his, glistening under the light as they drown in guilt. Damon gave her a short nod as he feigned anger. Holding her tears, Bonnie swallowed hard, “It’s none of your business.”

Elena waved Damon off as a relieved smile spread from cheek to cheek, “Oh my gosh! You snuck out to see Eric?! When?! You have to tell me everything!”

Meredith scratched at her temple and stabbed her fork into her eggs. She could hear the manipulation in her best blonde friend’s voice. She wanted Damon to hear the things “Eric” had done. Not that she could blame her. Little did she know that all she was really asking Bonnie to do was to tell her what _Damon_ had done. Meredith shook her head at the mess unfolding in front of her as she chewed on the unseasoned eggs, too distracted to care about the taste of her breakfast.

A deep stab struck Bonnie’s heart as she looked directly into Elena’s giddy blue eyes.

“Was he ok after the compulsion?” she asked, genuine worry in her eyes.

Meredith froze, shooting Damon an accusatory look. He stared back angrily, challenging her to assert her annoying opinion.

“Y-Yeah. He um, he didn’t remember coming to pick me up so it was easy to kinda pick up where we left off.” Bonnie’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“So you guys finally had your first kiss then! That’s exciting!” Elena beamed, casting a quick glance back at Damon to make sure he was still listening.

“Yeah!” Was all Bonnie offered as she attempted to sound bubbly.

“I’m so happy for you!” Elena nudged her before eating her breakfast.

“Thanks…” Bonnie’s voice faded into a whisper as she let her guilty gaze crawl to Damon’s. The irritation she got from his stare was just as intense as the guilt they shared.

Their glued gazes tore as Elena clanged her fork against her plate suddenly, “Oh my God! My discussion post! I’ll be right back!”

Elena ran out of the kitchen towards the grand staircase that led upstairs, leaving Meredith, Bonnie, and Damon alone at the table. Awkward silence hung in the air as Bonnie picked at her eggs, unsure of what to say. Damon simply raked an exhausted hand through his dark hair.

“You compelled Eric?” Meredith broke the silence with her sharp tone, staring Damon down with narrowed emeralds.

“Little bitch deserved it.” Damon grumbled, putting a boot up onto the chair next to him.

“Woah!” Meredith exclaimed in tandem with Bonnie.

“Hey!” she shouted in warning.

“What the hell did Eric do to you?” Meredith questioned.

“Exist.” Damon hissed.

“He was just trying to pick me up and Damon wouldn’t let me go, like I’m five or something…” Bonnie’s irritated tone faded to a mumble.

Damon rolled his eyes almost audibly as he lurched forward over the table, “If you really wanted to go, you would have. It’s not like you couldn’t have driven to his house on your own. You have a car!”

“How could I with you listening to every move I make?!” Bonnie shot back, leaning towards Damon.

Damon stood, muscles in his arm tensing as he held himself up over the table, gesturing wildly with his other hand, “I wasn’t going to stop you a second time. But you wouldn’t know that, would you? Because you were already at the house of the man you wanted…” a smirk pulled one corner of his lips up wickedly, “So why leave?”

He plopped back down into his chair smugly as Bonnie boiled in her seat, mouth agape, searching for a counter and coming up blank. Meredith’s fork had stilled in her eggs as her gaze darted back and forth between the two arguers. Her gaze had settled on Damon as he sat back confidently in his seat, and she couldn’t deny that she was impressed by his unwavering conviction. But he was still a complete asshole.

Blushing nearly as red as her hair, Bonnie pushed away from the table and stood, “I’ve gotta get to class.”

Picking up her backpack and grabbing her keys from the shelf on the wall, Bonnie fled out of the backdoor and to the five-car garage where her blue Mini Cooper sat in between Damon’s sleek, black Ferrari and Meredith’s forest green, BMW SUV. Starting up the engine, she huffed as she backed out and took the long, windy road down to the main road.

“So are you planning on starting a harem with my two best friends or are you actually going to pick one?” Meredith asked casually.

“I have picked one.” Damon muttered.

“The way you looked at Bonnie just now says otherwise.” Meredith countered.

Elena burst back into the kitchen then and tore a list from the refrigerator door, “We need to go grocery shopping. You wanna come, Mer?”

Meredith picked up her plate and stood from the table, “Can’t. I have work in twenty.”

With that, she hugged Elena and bypassed Damon on her way out to her car.

Damon stretched as he stood from the table, “Would you like me to stop and get you your favorite Frappuccino on the way?”

Elena smiled, playfully devious and Damon laughed.

Stepping out to Damon’s Ferrari, he opened the car door for her and ushered her inside. Elena thanked him as she went to sit down, but Damon’s fingers wound around her arm and pulled her back. Suddenly, unexpectedly, his lips landed on hers. Elena stiffened for only a moment as Damon’s kiss flooded her with desire and she responded. They kissed gently, Damon’s fingers running through her silky strands as she shivered and let her hand travel along his torso, feeling each muscle as it flexed beneath her fingers. Damon deepened their kiss, pressing closer to her. When she didn’t pull away, he smiled against her lips and their kisses grew faster, messier with each new meeting of their lips.

Elena’s phone rang, the shrill ring startling her from her haze as she jumped back from Damon.

The black clad vampire groaned, “Let it go to voicemail.”

“It’s Bonnie.” She said, fishing her phone from her crossbody bag.

“Hello?” she answered.

“E-Elena?” Bonnie’s voice sounded on the other end of the phone, thick with tears. Damon’s mood instantly became serious as he listened in to the call.

“Bonnie! What’s wrong?” Elena questioned, panic bubbling inside her.

There was sobbing, and Elena could hear sirens sounding in the distance.

“Are those sirens? Bonnie, where are you?” Elena was frantic to know the answer as she listened close, pressing the phone closer to her ear.

“Get in the car!” Damon commanded Elena as he sped around to the driver’s side. The engine roared to life as she sat in the low seats and closed the door behind her.

“I’m at exit 9” Bonnie cried and Elena grabbed the door handle to keep herself steady as Damon sped off down the road. “There was an accident.”

“We’re on our way, ok? Are you hurt?” Elena clutched the phone tight as she awaited the answer.

“I think I’m o-ok. It’s just a lot! But someone else is really hurt!” she sobbed. Elena felt the car push faster as Damon dug into the throttle.

“Are the police there? Is there an ambulance?”

Small sniffles sounded through the phone before Elena heard her answer, “Yeah. The ambulance just got here.”

“Ok, good. Just take deep breaths, alright? We’re coming as fast as we can. Are you in the right lane?”

“Yes. Just before the exit.” Bonnie cries grew soft.

Time had seemed to fly as they hit the interstate much sooner than normal, “Alright, just hang on, we just hit the interstate. We’re almost there.”

“Ok.” Bonnie whimpered.

Staying on the phone until they reached her, Elena could hear the EMT’s asking Bonnie questions as they examined her and tried to calm her. As they approached the scene, traffic was stopped for at least a mile. It was bumper to bumper and all red taillights as Damon took his car off-road and drove along the shoulder up until they could see the crash. Parking the car, Elena gasped as she saw four cars crushed and broken in various places as they lined up in front of the exit. The third car back was Bonnie’s blue Mini, the back of the car was caved in into the trunk space, one tail light had popped out and the rear windshield had a large crack traveling up towards the roof. Someone had rear-ended her…hard.

Elena struggled to keep up with Damon as he stormed forward towards the first officer he saw. Red and blue lights flashed, illuminating the damage with their colors. Elena stood back, searching for Bonnie’s thick, red hair.

“We’re here for Bonnie McCullough. Short, red hair—”

“She’s getting bandaged up at the ambulance back there,” the officer cut in, pointing behind him at the first of two ambulances.

Damon looked passed the officer to see Bonnie a few yards ahead, sitting on the back of the ambulance. An EMT wrapped her hand up with blue gauze. Bonnie, a cut on her lower lip, winced at the action and a guy with dirty blonde hair kneeled at her side, holding her hand in his. Damon ground his teeth, and he felt Elena’s presence as she walked up to him.

“Is that Eric?” she asked, her human eyes unable to see with such a distance.

“Yes” Damon seethed, and Elena looked up to him. Worried lapis gems turned sorrowful at the pained etched into Damon’s features.

“At least she wasn’t alone this entire time.” Elena offered, trying to make Damon feel better about the situation. Not only had he had to see the love bite on Bonnie’s neck from her escapades with him, but now he had to see Eric taking care of her in the most crucial of times. She could only imagine how hard it was for Damon to be put through all this at once.

The EMTs finished up with her and patted her on the shoulder. Eric helped her up and held her close. Elena noticed the knuckles on Damon’s fist going white and she cupped it in both of her hands, accidentally snapping him from his wrathful trance as he looked down to her.

“Why don’t you go to her?” she offered, giving Damon a sweet smile. She could handle this much, especially if it meant making Bonnie feel better.

“She’d probably rather have Eric there. I mean, she called him for a reason.” Damon nearly growled.

Elena gave his fist a small squeeze, “She was scared, Damon. Even _I_ know she’d rather have you there.”

Damon looked back towards the ambulance and saw Bonnie hastily limping towards him. Eric walked after her, trying to stop her from moving so quickly. Without hesitation Damon left Elena’s side and set off for Bonnie. Eric halted as soon as his eyes landed on Damon speeding ahead. All Damon could see was the small redhaired girl and the small cuts and bruises coating her body. He wanted to whisk her away, take away her pain, heal her, erase all of this trauma from memory…but she would never allow it, even as tears streamed down her puffy face.

Just as Damon left her side, the crunch of boots against the pavement ran up next to her.

“I’m here! Is Bonnie ok?” Meredith asked a bit breathlessly as she halted beside Elena.

“Yeah, she’s alright. Just shaken up mostly.” Elena said in a somber tone, her eyes never leaving Damon’s retreating back as he walked further from her.

“Where’s Damon?” Meredith asked and Elena pointed ahead. Just down the road was a leather-clad Damon taking up a small, frightened redhead into his hold. “Oh…” she said, mostly to herself.

“Damon!” he heard her small voice call and his arms were already wrapping around her slight frame as he took her up in his embrace.

Slender arms wrapped tight around him, and her hands fisted in his shirt, gathering up the material in trembling fingers. She sobbed into his chest, sucking in sharp breaths between each cry that fell from her lips and got muffled against his skin.

“Shh. Shh. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” He soothed her, brushing his fingers through her tangled curls and reveling in the way the silky strands seemed to worship his fingers. They swayed as she sobbed and he turned them, facing his back to Eric.

“Is anything broken? Where are you hurt?” he continued, pushing her back from him a bit so he could look over her body.

“I’m ok. Just my ankle and wrist. They’re sprained.” She held up her bandaged wrist to him, wiping her eyes with the back of her undamaged hand.

Damon pulled her back into him and took her face between his hands, thumbs gliding along the apples of her cheeks, “You scared the shit out of me.”

“I’m sorry.” She whimpered, watery gaze latching onto his as the midnight irises penetrated hers, flitting side to side as they dove deep into either chocolate pool. Heady breath whispered out from between his parting lips and ghosted over hers, coaxing her towards him as he leaned downward.

Without thinking, Bonnie popped up onto her tiptoes and eliminated the space leftover between them. Damon’s hands fell into her hair as he kissed her harder, letting her feel the height of his hidden hysterics. Bonnie’s dainty digits clawed into the front of his shirt as she calmed his panic and relaxed into him as she felt the safety of him envelop her, washing the fear from her anxious body.

Yards back, Elena went rigid, her teeth digging into the side of her cheek as she watched the guy she loved kiss her best friend. A warm hand touched her arm with all the care in the world and she felt Meredith’s emerald eyes studying her.

“Elena…” her careful voice began softly.

Just as quickly as the kiss began, it ended as Bonnie felt Damon’s body harden beneath her fingers and he jerked back. The reality of her surroundings flooded her as the noise of officers analyzing the scene flooded into her ears. Harsh static of walkie-talkies buzzed around her, rushed questions from EMTs as they talked the injured through their aches and pains mumbled in the background. Flashes of the crash bogged her mind and then faces appeared, Eric’s…Elena’s…

She gasped as she realized what they had done, following after Damon down the rabbit hole.

“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” she breathed, lips remaining inches from his.

Flashes of azure and crimson bounced off Damon’s jacket, and her hands came up to her mouth, “Oh god! Oh god!”

Damon caught her hands, squeezing them in his, “Bonnie!” Saucer eyes shot up to his. “Eric didn’t see,” he told her, saving her from the panic rising in her chest.

“But…Elena—” she began again.

“I’ll talk with her. Don’t stress, love.” Damon pulled her head into his chest and swayed them lightly. His arms wrapped her up tight and he pressed his lips to the crown of her curls, kissing her worries away just before he looked up to meet his.

Elena was being consoled by Meredith, looking upset as she hugged her arms around herself.

“I’m ok. Really. I know he cares about her. I just didn’t expect to see… _that._ ” Elena explained, unsure if she was trying to convince Meredith or herself that she was fine.

Meredith continued rubbing a soothing hand along Elena’s back, “I’m sure he wasn’t trying to hurt you. Emotions are just high, you know? He probably wasn’t thinking.”

Elena nodded, “I’m sure you’re right.” She offered Meredith a quick smile before regluing her eyes to Damon, still comforting Bonnie as she clung to him like he was a steady float in a sea of unrest.

Meredith looked over Elena’s hardened face, seeing no amount of ease unclenching her jaw from its fixed position. A long sigh broke from her lips. “Elena…” she began cautiously, “I want to see you happy, I really do, but…I think you were expecting to come back to a version of Damon that no longer exists.” She watched Elena’s lapis eyes turn to her, brows quirked over flooded crystals. “And I know you say you’re ok, but the roles have reversed. Now that Damon’s the one struggling with his feelings, are you prepared to go through that? Because I’ve seen what it did—what it’s still doing—to these guys, Elena, and it sucks! I just don’t want you to be in pieces by the end of this.”

Elena’s wary gaze lingered on Meredith for a moment, processing her words, and then she sighed, turning her stormy oceans back to Damon, finally detaching himself from Bonnie. “I hear you, I just—I don’t know what to do.”

Meredith dropped her hand from Elena and sighed a similar long sigh, “This really fucking sucks…”

Blonde brows crinkling, Elena looked back over to her brunette friend. Meredith glanced at her, “Well I can’t root for Damon to be with you because the moment I do,” palm up, she shot a manicured hand pointedly towards Damon and Bonnie, “I see _her_ upset, and then I want Damon to be with her,” dropping her hand, she lifted the other to Elena, “But then _you_ have that depressed look in your eyes and I regret ever wishing for him to be with either one of you!” she finished, flinging both hands overtop one another in an X shape before shoving them down at her sides and huffing loudly.

Elena’s response halted on her tongue as she saw Damon walking back over to her solo. Bonnie limped further away, back towards an awkward Eric, leaning stiffly against the door of his truck.

“Eric’s driving Bonnie home. I figured we could all meet back there.” Damon announced, stopping in front of the two girls.

“You’re actually letting Bonnie get in the car with him?” Meredith couldn’t hold the surprise from her voice.

Damon turned narrow eyes on her, “Well it’s not like she can exactly fit in my two-door Ferrari, now can she?”

Elena shrugged, “I could’ve ridden back with Meredith.”

Damon’s inky glare mellowed as he turned to the blonde, feeling that familiar sense of guilt stabbing at his chest, “I’d prefer you to ride with me, if that’s alright with you?”

Eyes fluttering, wisping away some of the jealousy there, Elena nodded and took his outstretched hand. “See you back at the house,” she called over her shoulder to Meredith, letting Damon lead her to his car.

Taking exit nine, the car was silent as Eric took the first U-turn available and re-entered the interstate. Bonnie shivered as they merged onto the busy road again, heading North. She jumped, feeling Eric’s hand slide over hers and taking it in his. She relaxed, letting his fingers lace with hers.

“Can we talk? I know you’ve had a stressful day, but—”

“Go ahead.” Bonnie answered, figuring it might be a nice distraction from the traffic zooming all around them and shredding her nerves to pieces.

Eric’s hand tightened on the wheel, “I know you said once that Der—um, Da…?”

“Damon.” Bonnie assisted, apprehension gripping strong around her heart. How much _had_ he seen?

“Damon,” Eric corrected, “I know you said he was Elena’s boyfriend, but—well, what is he to you? Because, back there, it felt more like—” he cut himself off, and let out a long breath, “I guess what I’m trying to ask is what’s the story between you two? Because he obviously has a place in your life.”

Bonnie swallowed hard and bit down onto the side of her lip that wasn’t busted open, “Um…”

“Is he an ex?” Eric questioned.

Taking in a long breath, Bonnie began in the best way she could, “Uh, not really. I’ve known Damon for a while, all of us have. And, uh…over the summer, he and I got closer, I guess,” she added, tears building in her chocolate pools, “but it was nothing, just a stupid fling. He’s always had a thing for Elena.”

Eric flashed a glance over at Bonnie, head bowed and dabbing at her eyes. “So back there, what was that?” he asked, the bumpiness of the road jostling them.

“What do you mean?” Bonnie turned confused eyes on him.

“Well, are you guys still close? Because it seemed like—”

“He was just worried about me. That’s all.” Bonnie interjected before his words could send her tears over the edge.

Hearing the strain in her voice, Eric tightened his hand on hers and dropped the subject, “Ok.”


	4. Charcuterie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the chaos that is the Elena-Damon-Bonnie triangle! Haha!

In Damon’s car, Elena held tight to his hand, tracing the length of his fingers with her free ones. The silent engine revved as Damon passed a slow driver, the force pressing Elena further into the leather seat.

“I’m not mad at you, you know,” she began in an understanding tone.

Damon glanced over at her, and sighed heavily, “Elena—”

“No,” she continued, “I know that you’re struggling, and I don’t want to make it any harder on you. So, it’s ok. You were scared for her. We all were. Sometimes, emotions get the best of us. I get it.”

Damon shook his head as he glanced at her again. She noted the guilt in his stare. “Elena,” he began again, “don’t do that. Don’t make excuses. It’s not ok. _You’re_ not ok…”

Elena swallowed the lump in her throat, “I’m trying to be.”

“Why?”

The lump in her throat swelled then, choking her up as tears began to stream down her face, “Because what choice do I have?! I don’t want to be _that_ person! I don’t want to be jealous and insecure every time Bonnie walks into the room or you walk out of it!” She paused, sniffling as she cried softly. Taking two fingers, she swiped from the inner corners of her eyes outward, careful not to smear her makeup. “I just…” she went on, lowering her voice, “I want you to be with me. I want you to pick _me!_ ”

The trees lining the side of the road grew closer as Damon pulled off to the shoulder of the highway, losing sight of the truck holding the shaken girl he couldn’t seem to tear from his brain. Meredith’s SUV passed them and she sped forward, keeping track of the truck the way she knew Damon would want someone too. As much as he hated to admit it, Meredith knew him a little too well, and he knew that she knew he still didn’t trust Eric. Letting out a small breath he unknowingly held, he set his sights on Elena and felt guiltier than he ever had.

“Elena, I’m sorry for causing you so much pain. I’m trying to give you what you need. I’m trying so damn hard!” his constrained voice wavered.

“I know!” Elena shouted, crying into her hands, “I’m trying to be patient. It’s just so hard!”

Damon turned his entire body to face her, “I know, princess. I’m so sorry. I don’t mean to put you through this! I’ll get better at this, just—please don’t give up on me…”

Elena dried the tears lingering on her face as she looked to Damon, twisting her body to face his. She had never heard him so low, at such a loss. She had never heard him beg. She didn’t like it. Taking his agonized face into her hands, she attempted to sooth it, running her fingers along the length of his hair gently, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Catching her hand in his, Damon turned his mouth into its palm and kissed. Leaning further over the console, Elena met him halfway and pressed her lips against his. She moaned softly as Damon held the back of her head tightly, securing her lips to his like she might disappear at any second. Elena ran her fingers through his thick locks, reveling in the feelings of pleasure he brought out in her as he kissed her breathless. But some tiny inkling in the back of her brain wouldn’t stop flashing images of the way he had kissed Bonnie so easily, so naturally only moments ago.

Walking into the house, Elena’s hand intertwined with his, he tensed as his eyes landed on Bonnie, cuddled up into Eric’s side on the couch. Meredith walked in from the kitchen, holding her new obsession, a charcuterie board with fruits and cheeses stacked up in a pretty display. Damon rolled his eyes at her as she proudly set the board down on the coffee table in front of Bonnie and Eric.

She plopped down on the opposite couch and looked up at Elena and Damon, “You two ok? I saw you stop back there.”

Elena squeezed Damon’s hand tight, “Yeah, we’re good.”

Damon let Elena’s hand go and she excitedly ran over to the charcuterie board, stealing a grape and chewing on it behind a satisfied smile. She slumped down next to Meredith and reached for another grape. The sharp-eyed brunette’s hand came down onto Elena’s, smacking it.

“I made this for the wounded one, not you!” Meredith stuck her tongue out at Elena, who spitefully took another grape and popped it into her mouth. The olive-skinned girl couldn’t stop the smile that spread on her lips, and she rolled her eyes as she, too, reached for a grape.

Damon took a seat in the velvet armchair fit for a king and turned towards Bonnie. Eric’s icy eyes glanced over to him uneasily and Damon wondered what they had talked about on the way home.

Reaching out to the redhead, he pulled out some gauze and medical pads he had snatched from the bathroom so fast that no one had noticed his departure, “Can I redo your bandages? That EMT clearly had no idea what they were doing.”

With a quick gulp of the grape she was chewing on, Bonnie hesitated for just a second as she deliberated what the action might look like to Eric. But Damon was only trying to help her. It was harmless, she decided as she placed her hand in Damon’s, admiring how large his hand was in comparison to hers. Damon pulled her gently over as she stood from the couch, supporting part of her weight with zero effort as she leaned into his hold. Limping closer, Damon casually pulled her down onto his lap and Bonnie tried to hide the enormous blush that blossomed on her cheeks. Inwardly, she panicked, wondering if Eric was going to freak out and praying that Elena wouldn’t yell at her. She didn’t dare peak at either of them. So she settled on Meredith, who gave her a warning look. And she knew she better be careful; whether or not they were making it known with drifting glances, Damon had put them under Eric and Elena’s microscope.

Reaching around her, Damon began working quickly with gentle fingers as he unwrapped the gauze around Bonnie’s wrist and examined the swollen skin.

“When I hit the car in front of me, it kinda jolted me forwards and my hand slipped from the wheel. My wrist hit the dash and bent in.” she explained, trying to get everyone’s attention off of the fact that Damon had her in his lap.

“I’m sorry that happened, Bonnie.” Elena said and Bonnie found the courage to look at her. Surprise rose in her as she noted the look in Elena’s eyes was not angry or solemn, but kind and genuine. Bonnie smiled at her friend, thankful for her understanding.

“I’m glad I could be there for you.” Eric said across from Elena. Bonnie’s gaze darted to his to find it, not upset or jealous, but honest and caring. Briefly, she wondered how she had gotten so lucky. But as her eyes fell back onto Meredith’s she knew not to let her guard down.

“I’m glad you were there.” She smiled sweetly.

Their locked eyes broke as Damon’s hands went down to the leg of her sprained ankle and tugged it upwards. She yelped, falling backwards into him. Damon ignored her, resituating her sideways in his lap and propping her foot up onto the chair’s arm. The girls giggled at Bonnie as Damon stayed focused, quickly working his ways on the second bandage. Eric tried to keep the smile on his face as he watched this man he just met take care of the girl he had no business touching.

With a perfectly dressed ankle, Bonnie thanked Damon as he helped her stand from his lap. Eric took over as she limped closer, holding her steady as she sat back down beside him.

“Where’s the bathroom?” Eric asked her. Bonnie twisted around, pointing behind them down a lengthy hallway.

“It’s through there, around the corner. It’ll be the third door on your right.” She answered with a sweet smile.

As Eric headed for the bathroom, she turned back to the room slowly filling with some sort of unsettling tension. Everyone was silent except for the crunching of fresh grapes by Elena and Meredith.

Meredith swallowed her grape quickly and scooted to the edge of her seat. “So,” she began looking around at each one of them, “differences aside, can we all agree that Bonnie needs to be healed?”

Her green orbs lingered on Elena, gaze faltering as it fell solemnly to her lap. Meredith’s sights settled on Damon then, looking troubled as he furrowed his dark brow. Eyes passing over Bonnie, she noticed the pink in her cheeks glowing bright.

“You’re right, Meredith” Elena began, shocking the room.

“She is?!” Bonnie nearly choked as she snapped her head up towards Elena.

“I don’t want to see you limping around for weeks when you could be better tomorrow. So yes, I agree with Meredith on this one,“ the blonde beauty replied confidently.

“No! Absolutely not!” Damon interjected, and all heads snapped in his direction. “I’m the one that will have to do this, so it’s my decision to make, not any of yours. So, no. It’s out of the question.”

“You want to leave her all banged up?!” Meredith exclaimed incredulously, sticking a flattened hand out towards Bonnie.

“Of course not!” Damon growled at the brunette digging into his last nerve.

“Then why—”

“Because it’s not that easy, _Meredith_!” Damon cut her off with a stern stare in her direction. “This may shock you, but humans don’t handle ingesting blood well. And just because I’m a vampire doesn’t mean my blood magically tastes like a three-layer cake.”

Meredith’s face went serious as her usual, quick-witted comebacks hid in the muted sections of her brain.

“Often times, people spit it back out, they gag, they vomit. They just can’t keep it down long enough for it to work. The human body rejects it.” Damon continued.

“Well why don’t you just give her a little and see?” Elena jumped in.

Damon sighed and slumped back into his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“It’s ok, Damon,” came Bonnie’s soft voice, “you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

Damon groaned inwardly and let his head fall to the right, turning obsidian orbs on her, “What do _you_ want me to do?”

Bonnie shrugged, “I’d like to try. Not having to limp around would be nice.”

“Then it’s settled. You’ll give her blood later. End of discussion.” Elena snapped, popping another grape into her mouth and letting her back hit the sofa cushions. As she pulverized the grape between her teeth, she huffed through her nose, beating the jealousy within herself down. This was for Bonnie’s health, nothing more. Nothing more.

Eric’s footsteps startled the group from their supernatural subject and they collectively dropped it. The girls reached forward, grabbing fruits and cheese cubes from the charcuterie board as the dirty blonde boy waltzed back into the room. Sitting down stiffly next to Bonnie, he remained silent, sensing the awkwardness in the room.

“What kind of pizza do you like, Eric? On me.” Meredith pulled her cellphone from her pocket and gave him a big smile, sensing his tension.

Eric smiled goofily, “Um, the works!”

“You got it!” Meredith answered, clicking away on her phone’s screen. Elena and Bonnie gave their orders next.

After the large pizza boxes were dropped off the tension in the house had eased quite a bit as everyone talked and laughed with one another. Meredith walked into the living room, holding a stack of four cardboard pizza boxes and sat it down in the center of the coffee table where the charcuterie board had been earlier.

The girls dug in alongside Eric as Damon looked on, studying the scene, overanalyzing the situation at hand. He couldn’t figure out why Elena had pushed him to heal Bonnie. What was she trying to prove? He pondered, staring off into the distance, drowning out the light conversation.

“You don’t like pizza?” Eric’s scratchy voice tore him from his thoughts in the most vexing way possible.

Damon slowly turned to the intruder casually eating free pizza in his house, a slow smirk spread across his lips, “Not my thing.”

“Are you like, vegetarian or something?” Eric asked casually, attempting to make conversation.

Bonnie gulped, biting harder into her pizza as her wide orbs darted back and forth between Damon and the oblivious boy playing with incognito fire.

Damon laughed heartily, “I couldn’t be further from it.”

“Ah, so you’re one of those protein enthusiasts. You seem like a gym type of guy.” Eric said, trying his best to understand the mysterious man that the cute redhead had an unfortunate bond with.

Damon’s smirk never waned as he looked over the pathetic blonde shoving pizza into his mouth like he hadn’t seen food in months. _What_ did Bonnie really see in this guy?

“Right, well, enough about me. Tell me about you. Bonnie barely talks about you, but somehow I feel like we’ve met before,” Damon grinned, flashing his human teeth that somehow looked more ominous than his fangs in that moment.

Bonnie glared at him. Damon glanced over at her, the sinful smirk never leaving his lips as he winked, sending unwanted sparks throughout her body.

Eric gave a short laugh that sounded more like a snort, “Ironic. Because I only learned today that you two knew each other better than I thought.”

“Is that so?” Damon faked surprise, causing Bonnie to slide deeper into her seat. “Pray tell, what did Miss McCullough have to say?”

Eric looked over to Bonnie, crunched up in her seat and seeming more uncomfortable than he had ever seen her. He chose his words carefully, “Nothing much, honestly. Just that she’s known you for a while. Mostly she talked about how you and Elena have a thing going on and, uh…that’s pretty much it.”

Damon’s gaze lingered on Bonnie for a moment too long before he spoke, “Hm. We have known each other a while. Mainly because she’s roomed here with Elena and Meredith since they moved in together.”

Eric scratched his head in some sort of daze and bobbed a pointed finger up and down in revelation, “Yeah, yeah. I vaguely remember this conversation. Bonnie must’ve told me at some point. You and your brother own this place, right?”

“Yep!” Damon said, popping the ‘P.’

“So do you like, rent it out to students, or…?”

Damon shook his head slowly, “I can’t imagine anything more dreadful.”

Eric gave a breathy laugh, “Damn. Maybe I could get a room here too…” he half joked.

Meredith and Elena halted in their chewing of fruit then, both looking towards a very rigid Damon. His dark chuckle brought uneasy shivers down Elena’s spine and Meredith looked as if she were bracing to referee a fight.

“I’m going to get a drink!” Bonnie announced, popping up from her seat.

Eric stood from the couch, “Let me help yo—”

“No!” she shouted accidentally, then quieted herself, “No…I’ll be fine.”

Eric sat slowly back down into his seat like a scorned child. Bonnie got halfway towards the kitchen when she stopped and twisted back towards them.

“Actually, Damon, can I talk to you please?” she pointed a stern finger towards the kitchen.

With a roll of his dark eyes, Damon shot from his chair and stormed passed Bonnie and into the kitchen. Elena stiffened beside Meredith and then felt the familiar soothing touch of her motherly friend. Meredith squeezed her leg and gave her an assuring nod. Elena took a deep breath, she had to be strong, she had to let them talk. Just talk. That was all.

Bonnie limped her way into the kitchen and fumed at a grimacing Damon leaning against one of the counters.

“Why are you being so rude?!” she exclaimed, walking closer to him.

Damon looked at her as if he had no idea what she was talking about, “I think I was being perfectly polite!”

“Oh stop! I know you! You’re making fun of him, you’re being hostile!” she accused.

Damon held up a fist, flicking his fingers up one by one, “He’s in my house, he’s sitting on my furniture, he’s eating for free…” he threw his arms into the air, letting them slap down at his sides, “What more do you want?”

“For you to be nice!” Bonnie answered, arms crossed over her chest.

Damon scoffed, “Not likely, sweetheart.”

Bonnie pouted at him, crimson brows furrowed over irate chocolate pools.

Unwavering, Damon leaned down towards her, speaking just above a whisper, “Consider yourself lucky I haven’t compelled his sorry ass off my fucking couch.”

Bonnie pushed him back, face scrunched up in anger, “Don’t bother healing me tonight. I don’t want it!”

Damon smiled down at her, coal eyes darkening as they swirled with devilish intent, “Wasn’t planning on it anyway.”

Tears built in Bonnie’s eyes, a frustrated whimper trickling from her lips as she inhaled shaky breaths. Her hands itched to slap the arrogance from his face just as much as they wished to drag his mouth down to hers. She fought with herself for a moment, unable to fulfil her desires but unable to bring herself to hit him just the same. And he just stood there watching her intently, blank eyes denying her entrance as they stared back coldly. She blinked, releasing the tears from their barriers along her glassy eyes. Warm droplets tumbling down flushed cheeks, she cried softly.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Her voice teetered on the edge of a breakdown.

She watched his jaw clench through watery vision.

“Like what?” he rasped, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard.

“Like you don’t care. Like nothing ever happened between us.” She cried.

“Isn’t that what you told Eric?” Damon’s strained voice fell from tight lips as he gave a short nod towards the living room.

Bonnie’s lashes fluttered, feeling as if she had just been punched in the chest as she limped backwards into the drawers beneath the granite countertop. Head bowing, she dropped her eyes to the tile flooring, a mix of brown and gray.

“I—” the words caught in her throat as she wrung her nervous fingers. “I told him we had a fling.”

A dark snicker left his breath, “Is that all it was?”

“Well…wasn’t it?” she sniffed, voice going hoarse as she stared at her clammy fingers, “I mean, isn’t that what you told Elena?”

Silence hung around them and Bonnie looked up from her shaky fingers. “ _Did_ you tell Elena anything?” the words fell slowly from her lips.

Damon sucked in a breath, “She knows we kissed.”

“Obviously…” Bonnie mumbled.

Damon couldn’t stop the slight roll of his eyes, “You know which time I’m talking about.”

The door creaked open and they both turned their eyes to see a wary blonde halfway into the kitchen.

“Everything ok in here?” she asked hesitantly, but something in her posture relaxed, as if she were relieved.

“We were just about to rejoin you guys actually.” Damon announced, pushing from the counter and walking over to his princess.

Bonnie averted her eyes, looking down to her fingers curling up into her palms.

“I think Eric’s trying to head out.” Elena told her.

Limping, Bonnie pushed passed the couple and strode back into the living room.

“You’re leaving?” she asked him, hurt in her eyes.

“Yeah, I just—there’s a lot going on and I don’t want to get in the way.”

Reentering the living room, Elena smacked Damon’s arm as she noticed his mouth opening to give a snarky response.

“Ow.” He feigned injury, holding his bicep and looking at her reprimanding crystals.

“Ok,” Bonnie said easily and wrapped her arms around Eric’s slim figure for a hug. The lanky boy returned the gesture and swung his arms around her, pulling her in tight.

“See you next time, Eric.” Meredith’s friendly smile beamed as she stood to give him a quick hug.

“Thanks for the pizza!” he said gratefully as he pulled the brunette in for an appreciative embrace.

Elena waved as Eric departed, “Bye!” she called as Damon grumbled beside her, remaining silent.

“Alright, well, that’s enough drama for me today.” Meredith announced and walked up the stairs to her room.

Bonnie turned, heading for the stairs when Elena’s voice halted her, “Wait! Bonnie, Damon needs to heal you.”

The small girl swiveled around to face them, one hand on the railing of the steps. Her amber gaze shifted to Damon, waiting…

“Later.” He stated. And she knew what that really meant as she shifted back to the stairs and slowly made her way up, limp by limp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're gonna wanna be here for the next chapter...just sayin ;)


	5. Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for that M rating... ;)

Darkness enveloped her room as she flipped the lamp on, creating a glow of warm, yellow hues. Hobbling to the window, she closed the pastel green curtains.

“Hi” Damon’s voice broke through the silence.

Bonnie whipped around, screaming as she slammed her back against the dresser. The trinkets on top wobbled, some falling with a small smack. Seeing his strong, dark form looming in the doorway, Bonnie slapped a hand over her pounding chest and let out a long breath.

“I come in peace.” Damon joked, inviting himself inside and closing the door behind him.

“What are you doing here?!” Bonnie asked, exasperated.

“I’m supposed to be healing you, remember?” he reminded, waltzing over to her bed and lying down, bare feet propping up onto the comforter. He propped one arm behind his head and smirked.

Bonnie’s breaths slowed as her pulse crawled back to a normal pace and she looked over him. Black pajama bottoms hugged his narrow hips as they draped down his legs and brushed the tops of his feet. Bonnie bit into her lip as she looked over his torso, envious of the grey t-shirt that clung to him. “You—you said you weren’t going to give me your blood…” her confused orbs landed on his.

Damon shrugged coolly, “I changed my mind.” His brilliant teeth shined beneath his wicked smile.

“Elena made you?” she asked, expecting the alternative.

Damon shook his head, all playfulness gone from his face, “I decided on my own, actually.”

Crossing her arms over her little chest, her fiery brows furrowed, “I thought it wasn’t a good idea, I thought I couldn’t handle it?”

Damon pulled himself upright, “I never said you couldn’t handle it. I said _most_ people can’t handle it. I happen to think you’ll handle it quite well.”

He stood from the bed, taking each step towards her deliberately slow. Bonnie stiffened, moving one foot automatically backwards, “Why’s that?”

Damon closed in on her and reached out, curling his fingers around the forearm locked at her chest. He pulled, ushering her forwards as he sauntered backwards toward her bed, “Because I have a plan, and I’’m going to coach you through it.”

Damon plopped down onto the edge of her bed, making it creak slightly as he bounced. Taking Bonnie by the hips, he turned her and pulled her onto his lap. He smirked to himself, hearing the increase of her heartbeat as she unconsciously snuggled into him.

With a short clearing of his throat, he focused his thoughts on Elena and the job he was here to do, “Now, first things first…” he brought his middle finger up to his mouth and, letting his fangs descend, nicked it.

Bonnie watched as a small ruby droplet formed at the tip of his finger.

“Relax…” the lips at her ear breathed, and she obeyed, letting him raise his bloody finger to her mouth.

Taking her delicate features in one hand, he pressed his fingers around her jaw, holding her head still as he brushed the blood drop over her cut lip. He smiled as the cut began to close, healing instantly.

“Open,” he coaxed, feeling her heart pound beneath his fingers.

Looking to him for reassurance, she let her lips part and he dipped his finger in, swiping the remainder of his blood along her tongue. As if on instinct, Bonnie closed her lips around his finger and sucked. A small smirk tugged at his mouth, and he couldn’t help thinking what a natural vampire she would make. Pulling his finger from her mouth, he automatically brought it to his and licked. Her flavor spread across his tongue and flashes of that night burst to life in his memory. Her floral taste lingering on his tastebuds as he basked in the feel of her skin beneath his exploratory fingers, sliding beneath her—

Damon yanked his finger from his mouth, berating himself for such a careless mistake. With a quick shake of his head, he locked the memories away and held tight to his focus. Releasing her jaw, his hand rested along her throat as he watched her face shift from anxiousness to wonder to disgust. Her nose scrunched and her mouth turned down as she smacked her tongue at his taste.

Damon laughed as she groaned, “It’s not the _grossest_ thing I’ve ever had. It tasted kinda good for a minute.”

“You think you can handle it?”

Bonnie nodded against him, confident eyes sparkling as they looked up and back at him, “I can do it.”

Wrapping a secure arm around her, he held her close as he got his wrist into position, “Just to be safe, I have a way for you to handle it better. But if you start to feel sick, just stop ok? You shouldn’t need much.”

Her curls mussed as she rested her head against his shoulder and nodded once more. “What do I do?” she asked earnestly, long lashes batting as she stared up at him.

A smirk spread on Damon’s lips, and his heavy-lidded eyes swirled with a seduction Bonnie couldn’t look away from. A spike of fear coursed through her body as the black of his irises spread like water from a broken dam, and deep, veiny lines crawled along his under-eyes. Beneath parted lips, sharp, toothy razors descended, “Remember who it is you’re drinking from” he answered and then buried his fangs into his wrist, inky gaze never leaving hers.

Anxiety laced through the exhilaration flowing along her veins and she got the urge to run as she watched him pull the bloody wrist from his mouth and use his tongue to lap up the red liquid from his lips. She had no time to back out as Damon rushed his wrist to her mouth and, guiding her jaw open, shoved it between her lips. Bonnie gasped, feeling his blood trickle over her tongue. The coppery taste churned her stomach and she dug her into his forearm, suddenly unsure if she would be able to swallow.

Damon’s arm tightened around her, “Bonnie, you can do this. Stop thinking about it. It’s just me.”

He felt her swallow a little as her throat bobbed beneath his hand, but it wasn’t enough. Putting his lips to her ear, he coaxed her the best way he knew how, “That’s it. Keep drinking. Just like when I kiss you and my taste is in your mouth. Remember?”

Bonnie nodded against him and swallowed a good amount of his blood, finding the strength to stomach it. Memories of his kisses flooded her brain, and she swallowed again, ignoring the overwhelming metallic flavor that had her going nauseous seconds prior.

“What do I taste like to you?” he continued, making sure she was fully distracted as he nuzzled into her, reveling in the scent of her blood rushing just beneath her skin, “When I kiss you so deeply that you can’t think straight…”

Bonnie’s eyes fluttered closed and she moaned against his wrist, nails digging further into his skin. She drank easily, electricity vibrating throughout her body as she let Damon’s breathy talk recall forbidden memories to the forefront of her mind. The way his hand had snuck up beneath her—

Then his arm was being pulled from her grasp, and she was shocked from her daze. A blush crept up to her cheeks as she quickly unclamped her fingers from Damon’s arm, embarrassed at how tightly she had been clinging to him as she swallowed his life down like it was melted chocolate. Her stomach felt perfectly settled as she calmed from the excitement of him, but lower, deeper inside her the ache remained.

Damon easily slid her from his lap and her butt hit the bed as he stood. Kneeling in front of her, he unwrapped the bandage from her ankle. Bonnie shivered as his fingers pressed gently into her skin, testing the area for soreness, but she felt nothing besides the sparks driving her nerves into a frenzy.

“Seems healed. Does it still hurt?” Damon questioned, looking up at her from beneath low brows.

Bonnie swallowed hard and licked her lips as she shook her head, “Nothing hurts.”

“What about your wrist?” He asked, reaching for it and unwrapping the bandages there.

Bonnie watched his long fingers work, brushing along her skin as they carefully unwrapped her wrist. Her gaze flicked to his lips as they moved, wrapping so sexily around each letter they pronounced. But his words were lost on her as the only thing she could hear were the moans that had slipped from him that night. The forbidden sounds played loud in her head, raising goosebumps across her skin that heated without consent.

When she didn’t answer, Damon turned his eyes on her, “Bon—”

The hazy redhead’s body reeled as her lips connected with his. Taking his face between her hands, she leaned into him, reveling in the softness of his lips.

Damon’s brows furrowed, confliction getting the best of him as his system ignited with the flames he kept simmered. His hands buried into her curls on their own accord, and his lips began to press into hers, kissing her back before he had deemed it ok. Head going fuzzy, he only vaguely realized he was climbing on top of her as he pushed her back onto the bed. Heavily lidded eyes rolled shut as he took her lower lip into his mouth and sucked, turning his world into a familiar darkness that carried only the best form of pleasure.

And then the yellow light of the room tore him from the darkness he desperately desired to return to. The tiny part of his brain yet engulfed in fire screamed at him, fighting with every ounce of power it had. Damon pushed her head back, reluctantly breaking their kiss as he shoved himself off her and let his head hit the mattress, lying flat on his back. His chest took shallow breaths as he dragged his hands down his face and stared up to the ceiling, attempting to tame the animal back into its cage. He had never been much of a prayer, but right then, he prayed for help to be faithful to the girl of his dreams. He had to go back to her. He wouldn’t slip up again. But the lust in him only grew, eating away at his will to leave, to resist the lips that had kissed so needily along his.

“Damon, I—”

Damon held a hand up to silence her, trying to get his body to cooperate with his brain. But the feelings only lingered, and he could only listen as his subconscious chastised him. He groaned as her floral perfume invaded his nostrils, and his ears zoned into her heartbeat, thrumming beneath her ribcage. Heavy breaths puffed from her lips, glistening with the remnants of their kiss. Feeling the bed shift, Bonnie’s tiny weight leaned against him, and then her lips were at his neck. Sparks shot through him and he growled, aggressively taking her head between his hands and stilling her.

“Please,” she cried through hushed tones, and Damon’s hands loosened. She kissed along the length of his throat, feeling the tension in his body as he fought against her. “I want you” she confessed into his skin, sucking at a particularly sensitive place in the crook of Damon’s neck.

Every kiss she placed on him felt like hot iron as they seared into his skin, the burn lingering in their wake. Damon sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth as her weight pressed into him. He fisted his hands, begging them not to dig into her thighs at either side of his waist.

“Bon—” he groaned through grinding teeth as the intoxicating redhead swirled her tongue along the susceptible skin she had been slowly sucking into her mouth. His fingers uncurled, inching towards Bonnie’s bare legs and brushing their smoothness.

“Bonnie…” he huffed, “please, st—”

Her lips moved lower, kissing down the small patch of his chest that lie bare beneath the V of his shirt’s collar. Damon growled, slamming a fist into the bed as he felt himself losing the battle. Bonnie’s hands shook as he felt them trail beneath his shirt, hesitant as they ran along his bare chest. Every oversensitive nerve ending seemed to burn as her delicate fingers glided along his body. His control physically shattered.

With an agonized groan, Damon brought her face up to his and crushed his lips to hers. He kissed her hard, letting his anger melt against her mouth until he was just as hazy as she was. Any guilt-ridden part of him seemed to vanish; all he could feel was her body melting into his and her flavor seeping into his tastebuds. Damon reveled in the hotness of her mouth, letting himself explore it the way he had been craving to since that night not so long ago. Her soft moans in his ears drove him further and he shot them upright, breaking their kiss for only a second as he lifted his shirt over his head and threw it to the floor. Bonnie tangled her fingers in his disheveled, midnight strands as his mouth reclaimed hers with torturously sloppy kisses.

Heat pooled in the lowest part of her body and every part of her tingled as she wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing her center closer to him. His mouth traveled down her neck with hot, breathy kisses. She wriggled against the bulge slowly growing to meet her where she wanted it most, and her legs tightened around him.

“Damon,” she whined, clawing at his bare back.

Suddenly, they were twisting and her back hit the bed. Damon hovered over her, obsidian crystals heavy with desire as he leaned on one arm, using the other to dive beneath the silky shorts barely covering her bottom. Feeling her wetness coat his finger, he slipped it inside her and caught her mouth in his as she moaned loudly, scratching the length of his arm. He watched her beneath heavy lids as she arched into him. Curling his finger, he massaged the deepest parts of her, basking in the cries of pleasure he drew from her mouth as she came undone underneath him. He added a finger, stretching her walls as he worked her closer to the edge. Small whimpers fell from her lips into his mouth as he kissed her over and over. With a few more strokes of his fingers, she tightened around him and threw her head back. Damon clamped a hand over her mouth as she cried out, contracting as she came down from her high. She whimpered as he withdrew his fingers from her, leaving her empty again. Her heart raced between palpitations as she watched Damon bring his hand up to his mouth. Salacious eyes examined the clear coating along his fingers before turning on her. Holding her heady eyes with his, Damon closed his lips around his fingers and licked them clean. All the breath in Bonnie’s lungs left through her lips as she watched Damon slowly pull tantalizing fingers from his mouth and lick his lips, savoring her flavor.

Biting down onto her swollen bottom lip, amber gems traveled along his body, admiring each muscle until they landed at the prominent bulge just below the waistband of his pants. Her gaze lingered there, and, acting on instinct, she reached for it. Busy delighting in the taste of her, Damon tensed as he felt her hand pull at his waistband, her fingers attempting to reach beneath them. He caught her wrist in his hand.

“Bonnie, no…”

She pressed on, and Damon didn’t have the strength to stop her as she slid her hand beneath his waistband and took him into her hand. He moaned, her touch sending unrelenting pleasure throughout his body. Still, his grip tightened around her wrist, halting its movements.

“Please,” she begged, “Show me how. I want to make you feel good too.”

Her plea hung between them for a moment as their heavy breaths clashed, milk chocolate eyes melting into pools of dark drowning in their own desire. With a groan, Damon surrendered, guiding her hand along his length. Falling onto his back, he clamped his lips into a hard line, sealing them shut as he fought back unwanted moans. Bonnie sped up her motions and gripped tighter, gauging his reaction all the while. The small grunts and groans slipping from his clenched jaw drove her on, and she moaned, chewing on her lip as his hips rocked with the rhythm of her hand, thrusting along her fingers. She moaned at the feel of him growing against her strokes, becoming hard as stone.

“Shit!” Damon groaned, intoxicated orbs rolling into the back of his head.

Warm liquid was running down their joined hands then, and Bonnie marveled at it, unintentionally licking her lips as she watched him ride out the release she had given him. Taut pectorals rose and fell in rapid motions as he fisted his fingers into her rumpled comforter and tensed. Then, he relaxed, looking just as dazed as she had felt only moments ago. Slowly, his eyes peaked open as he came down from his ecstasy, still staring at her with that desirous gaze he had down to an art. Uncaring of his mess, he rolled on top of her and began planting slow kisses down her throat. Hitching one leg around his hip, Bonnie ran her fingers through his hair and down his back.

His teeth were nipping along her collarbone when he froze, perking his head up.

“What’s wrong?” Bonnie breathed, head still dizzy with his potent presence.

Faint, girly footsteps echoed in his ears, and he untangled himself from Bonnie as the weight of their actions began to sink into him. Quickly, he sped into her bathroom and cleaned himself off. In the same second, he had grabbed his shirt from the floor and yanked it back over his head.

“Damon!” Bonnie caught his arm in both her hands, stilling his haste.

“Please stay…” teary eyes pled with his, little hands pulled at his arm…his heart cracked open and bled.

“Redbird, I—” he choked, caressing her beautifully flushed features between his hands. He pondered over them as she nestled into his touch. Everything in him begged him to stay. But the footsteps looming closer told him that wasn’t an option.

He pressed his forehead to hers, lingering for just a moment longer in her company.

“I’m sorry,” she felt his loss as he ripped himself away, speeding into the hallway to return to her best friend and leaving her alone to patch the hole in her chest.

Tears poured down Bonnie face and she flung herself into her bed. Curling up to hold her fragmented pieces together, she bawled into her pillow so no one would hear how her heart broke.


	6. Aisles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all have fun running errands with the gang! ;)

The next morning, Bonnie sat at the kitchen table, lazily churning her spoon through the few pieces of soggy cereal left floating in the almond milk filling her bowl. A soft hand came down to her back, rubbing soothing circles. Bonnie jumped at the sudden touch and looked up to see concerned lapis eyes.

“Are you ok? You seem down.” Elena asked.

Bonnie’s heart lurched and she had to fight to keep the tears from bursting from her eyes. She wanted to scream. No! Everything was not ok. Guilt was eating her alive! She wanted to fight, because she needed Damon and the thought of someone else taking him away was unbearable. But mostly, she wanted to be able to talk to her best friend about how the man she had had an intimate moment with was breaking her heart. Instead, she gave a friendly smile that didn’t dare touch her eyes.

“I’m ok.” She answered.

Dropping her hand from Bonnie’s back, Elena became jittery as she sat adjacent from the redhead and put her elbows onto the table.

“I just…” she began, wringing her fingers, “I wanted to talk about yesterday.”

At Bonnie’s saucer eyes, she stuck her hands up, shaking them, “I’m not mad! I just wanted to let you know that I don’t blame you. I get why it happened. I mean, Damon told me about…”

Elena trailed off, watching Bonnie go more pale by the second.

“Look, I know this is awkward, Bon. But I have to say it. I know that you guys kissed over the summer. And, I understand. It’s not a big deal to me. Is it weird? Yes. Do I like that it happened? No. But—” the rambling blonde cut herself off with a short huff, skin tight around her splayed fingers. “I’m ok. I’m not upset with you, for either kiss. Emotions were really high and Damon cares about you still, so no need to feel guilty or anything. We’re good!”

Elena smiled at Bonnie, trying her best to push the slimy green monster down. But the paleness on Bonnie’s normally rosy pallor was unsettling, and her grin faltered.

“Bonnie, did—did something else happen last night when…?” Elena squeezed her eyes shut, the mere thought of any other occurrences shredding her heart.

The translucent skin on Bonnie’s face flushed, going deep red. Her throat bobbed in a hard swallow and her small mouth opened in a little ‘o’…

“Hey, all!” Meredith burst into the kitchen toting a sing-song voice.

Both tense friends turned to her, flashing their largest fake smiles. But something much more important than tender feelings plagued Meredith’s thoughts, and she failed to read the room.

Slapping her hands down onto the table just, she sighed dramatically, “I have discovered this morning,” she placed a hand to her chest and looked off into nothingness as if she were reciting a play on stage, “that my green juice…” she paused, pretending to get choked up, “is gone!” she hung her head abruptly, theatrically.

Bonnie couldn’t help the smile that quirked her lips upwards. Elena, however, looked over Bonnie’s profile, haunted by a thousand “what ifs.”

Damon entered the kitchen and any half-smile on Bonnie’s lips vanished and appeared on Elena’s pout, tugging the cupid’s bow up. Meredith popped her head back up, dropping the theatrics as she spoke normally, ignoring the older Salvatore’s presence.

“So, grocery shopping! Who’s coming with?” Meredith pointed black tipped nails at her two best friends, brows raised expectantly.

“I’ll go.” Bonnie piped up, her voice sounding more sorrowful than she meant it to.

Elena nodded, “So will I. We never actually went to the store after Bonnie’s accident.”

Meredith beamed, “Great!” And then she slapped the back of her pointed hand to Damon’s chest as he walked closer, “You’re paying, right?” She batted her mascara-coated lashes at him, smile only widening as she heard the low grumbling noises emanating from behind his teeth.

“Good to see you’re all healed up again!” Meredith smiled over at her redheaded friend in the passenger seat. She pressed her lips together in a tight line as each glance from the road to the petite girl left her empty.

Bonnie stared out of the window, looking up to the sky and watching the clouds slowly pass by, some outlined in bright white as they passed along the sun’s rays.

“Bonnie…” Meredith called softly.

“Mm?” she hummed, slowly tearing her gaze from the clouds.

“You look tired. Did you not sleep better last night after…” Meredith let her question fade as she watched the frown on Bonnie’s face grow. “What happened? Did you guys fight?”

Turning the wheel of the car, Meredith caught the wipe of Bonnie’s fingers across her undereye in her peripherals. She turned concerned cat-eyes onto her friend as the lane ran straight again.

“Bonnie…” she placed a comforting hand onto Bonnie’s arm, “you can talk to me. It’s ok.”

Pressing both hands to her face, her shoulders shook as she cried softly, “We—” a sob broke through her lips. She tried again, drying her eternally wet eyes, “We…” She couldn’t bring herself to say the whole truth. With a huff, she went with half, “We made out.”

Meredith released a lengthy sigh, letting her chest deflate until it was shallow, “Of course you did…”

Inflating her chest with a large inhale, she continued before Bonnie had a chance to say her sorrys, “I’m not mad at you. Damon just pisses me off.”

Meredith’s knuckles tightened around the steering wheel, “The way he keeps on with both of you…it just irritates me.”

Silence fell and Bonnie stared at the road ahead, letting the vibrations of the car jostle her slightly. And then she jumped as Meredith smacked the wheel hard and growled angrily, “And I _hate_ , more than anything, that I can’t just be happy for my friends. When you say this stuff to me, I want, with everything in me, to be able to feel excited without worrying what this information would do to Elena. But it’s constant concern either about you or Elena because when Damon plays with one, he hurts the other. For the love of _God_ I wish that Damon looked like a damn troll so you two could just move on with your lives!”

Letting out a long breath, she clenched her fingers around the wheel once more, “…sexy bastard” she breathed to herself, shaking her head in disapproval.

After a moment’s pause, Meredith continued, “Look, I know you and Damon have— _something,_ and I don’t say this out of animosity, but maybe next time Damon tries to kiss you, you should refuse…”

She glanced over at a blank Bonnie, trying to gauge her reaction, “I only say that because I care about you and I don’t want you to keep getting hurt. Right now, Damon’s confused and he’s going to continue pulling you into the crossfires unless you say no.”

Bonnie looked down to her light pink nails and sighed.

Stepping out of their cars, the group reconvened and began their march into the grocery store. Bonnie’s curls danced in perfect flames around her face as the wind breezed across them, rustling Damon’s dark strands across his forehead. Lifting an arm, he raked a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face just as the sliding doors opened and released a burst of air that Elena took like a model as she stepped over the threshold. Golden strands gleamed beneath the bright store lights, and she threw her head back, effortlessly flipping her pin-straight hair over her shoulder. Meredith came up beside her to point at some sort of chocolate candy and Bonnie saw how seamlessly they added up. The blonde bombshell and her equally beautiful best friend with long, brown waves that cascaded down her toned back, not a single, silky strand out of place. Bonnie sighed to herself as she followed behind them. Not that either girl was particularly tall, but she could never be as leggy as either of them. She was short and small beside them; she didn’t stand out and she was always looked down upon. A frown tugged at her lips; she was nothing to look at in comparison.

An arm came down, hooking around hers and she jerked sideways as Elena yanked towards the opposite side of the store. Bonnie yelped as Elena laughed, dragging her towards the ice cream.

“Sorry, it was just on my mind. And I _need_ you to help me pick otherwise I’ll be here all week!” Elena giggled as they rushed to the frozen sweets.

A small laugh slipped from Bonnie’s mouth and a smile washed over pout, lighting up her eyes as she tried her best to keep up with Elena. It was nice, the moments where things were normal and the awkwardness between them was erased.

Down aisle one, Meredith argued softly to an irked Damon.

“You were supposed to heal her, Damon. Not cause her more emotional turmoil!”

Peeved, Damon gripped the shopping cart tighter, “And I told you it’s really none of your business what happens between us.”

“If you’d stop making her cry, I wouldn’t have to ask.” She hissed, stopping to look at the selection of breads.

Expecting a snarky response from Damon, soundless reply played in its wake. Meredith turned back, perfectly arched brows stitching between emerald eyes. The powerful vampire all dressed in black had his elbows on the cart’s handle and his face in his hands. Meredith stilled the hands automatically wanting to reach out to him and waited.

Wiping both hands over his face, Damon connected his dark gaze with hers and the turbulence swirling in the depths of his abysses was disturbing.

He spoke slowly, matter-of-factly, beneath a stern tone, “I’m not trying to make her cry. It’s never my goal, Meredith. I fucking _hate_ it when she’s upset, and as much as you seem to think otherwise, I never go in thinking of ways to hurt her. The thought couldn’t be further from my mind.”

Meredith stared at him, analyzing, brows low over her eyes. Exasperatedly, Damon let his foot down from the cart’s lower bar and pushed on. The olive-skinned girl’s hand shot out, catching the metal cart.

Damon rolled his eyes and let them land on her, “What?”

“You’re in love with her…” Meredith stated just above a whisper, brows pulling up as realization spread, alighting her eyes into large, green saucers.

“How the _hell_ did you come to that conclusion?!” Damon asked, resting his exhausted expression in one hand.

“Because, unlike you, _I_ am an intelligent woman!” sticking her tongue pointedly out at him, she spun, whipping her hair around as she walked confidently on down the aisle.

Damon rolled his eyes once more, screwing his face up in disgust with the brunette girl Elena called a “best friend.” He huffed to himself as he followed her with the cart, but her words wouldn’t stop repeating in his mind.

Holding an icy gallon of chocolate ice cream in one hand, Elena held tight to Bonnie’s hand with her other. They laughed down the empty walkway as they tripped over one another, attempting their favorite pastime from middle school. Bonnie crossed a short leg over Elena’s, both girls tried their best not to fall as they stepped forward and switched, one of Elena’s legs crossing over Bonnie’s.

“This was so much easier in middle school when we were closer to the same height.” Elena stated through a bout of laughter, her fair-skinned face flushed as she concentrated hard on their movements.

“Ow! You stepped on my foot!” Bonnie whined, laughing just as hard as Elena as they stumbled along the back of the store.

“Aren’t we a little old for that?” Meredith smiled as she met up with them from the opposite direction, Damon trailing not too far behind.

“Probably,” Elena said as she and Bonnie untangled themselves and wiped at their leaky eyes.

“You wanna help me pick out some frozen meals real quick? We desperately need them for the days we’re all bogged down with classes.” Meredith asked, looking straight to Elena.

The blonde nodded, “Sure,” and walked down a couple aisles to the frozen entrée area, Meredith right at her side.

Damon began to follow but Bonnie put a gentle hand on the cart, and he paused.

“Can we go down this aisle for a second? I wanted to get some cereal,” She asked in her smallest voice, brown eyes barely able to meet his.

“Lead the way.” Damon answered, following after her as she skipped down to the wall of colorful cereal boxes.

Standing at the peak of the aisle, forearms resting on the cart, he watched as Bonnie put a small finger to her lips and pondered over the wide variety of sugary breakfast options at hand. Damon couldn’t help but think of how lucky that dainty digit was, to be pressed so delicately against such pouty lips. Taking his lower lip in between his teeth, he chewed, obsidian gaze trained on her mouth: the way it moved in silence as she whispered to herself absentmindedly, the way her lower lip tugged downward as she dragged her finger over it, the softness of the skin there as her mouth submitted to his…

His eyes drifted, over her alabaster neck where luscious blood rushed, over her breast just enough to fill up his hands, over the slight curve of her hips, jutting out as she shifted her weight to one leg, and then further down…

Bonnie froze, catching the faintest sounds of—no, she must be hearing things. But there it was again. Moaning? She concentrated her hearing, but there was no need. The sound wasn’t audible. It was in her head. And it wasn’t just moaning, it was heavy breaths, and kissing sounds, and cries that sounded a lot like—

Her entire body went stiff at the same moment it flushed hot. Her wide eyes shot over to Damon, still and looking dazed as he stared at her.

“What are you doing?” she asked, heart beating erratically.

The sounds stopped as Damon’s brows cinched over his eyes, and his tongue snuck out to sweep over his lower lip, “What do you mean?”

“The sounds!”

“What sounds?” Damon asked, brows furrowing further.

Slowly, Bonnie turned her body towards him and began walking, “What were you thinking about—just now?”

Damon straightened, analyzing her with hard eyes, “Why are you asking this?”

Bonnie stopped in front of the shopping cart and crossed her arms loosely, “Because the sounds I was hearing weren’t—” she blushed, her gaze faltering to her fidgety stance, “they weren’t appropriate for—”

Damon reached out for her. Taking her upper arm in his hand, he pulled her closer as he looked up and down the aisle in search of a particular blonde listener. Sensing the all clear, Damon leaned down to her, “How the hell did you get into my head?!” he spoke lowly, angrily.

“It wasn’t me! You projected!” Bonnie quipped through a whisper-yell.

Damon understood then and relaxed, dropping his hand from Bonnie’s arm. He looked around once more before casting his gaze onto the blushing redhead, “I didn’t mean to project… _that_ to you, ok? I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, Bonnie couldn’t keep the smile from pulling at her mouth and she bit down onto her lip to try to keep her excitement contained. She twisted slightly from side to side, fiddling with nervous fingers, “So…you think about the things that happened between us?”

Sparkling brown orbs turned up to Damon and he sighed, unable to break eye-contact. Dark gaze flitting between the two of her irresistible chocolate gems, he leaned his face closer to hers, “You ask that like you think I’ve stopped.”

Bonnie’s mouth fell open as if to say something, but she gasped nearly inaudibly. Her lips tried to form around words for a moment before she gave up, smashing them together and swallowing hard.

A smirk crept its way across Damon’s lips as he marveled at her speechless form and Bonnie smiled mischievously, taking one step closer and blushing deep ruby. His mouth watered at her proximity and he ground his teeth as her intrusive aura began caressing his in the most tantalizing of ways. His jaw clenched up as he fought against his vampiric instincts, and he watched her curls swing as she looked left then right. Hearing the other customers around the store, Damon knew they were quite alone as the wheels of the distant metal carts squeaked irritatingly so in his sensitive ears.

Then, something warm was sliding along the crotch of his pants, seeping warmth through the knit of his joggers. Looking down, he saw Bonnie’s petite fingers curling around him over the black material fitted against him. With all the casualty in the world, he met her daring eyes and simply stared into them, unphased.

“So you’re molesting me now, hm?” he teased, offering a wicked smirk.

Bonnie’s boldness faded instantly as all the wildness fell from her face, and she pouted.

He chuckled darkly, “I can turn it off,” he reminded.

Taking a finger up to her collarbone, he slowly ran it down between her breasts, poking out beneath a baby-blue shirt. Black eyes followed his finger in a trance as he brushed her stomach and she shivered beneath his touch. “But you can’t,” he teased, letting his finger drop further, to her abdomen, and further still, catching on the waistband of her sweatpants as he dipped them dangerously low.

A small, nervous noise squeaked from Bonnie’s lips as she caught his hand with her trembling one. Letting her waistband snap back into place, he dropped his finger and chuckled at her frenzied state of mind. But Bonnie was determined, and she massaged him. He hissed, and then growled softly, catching her wrist in his. Bonnie smiled triumphantly, feeling him harden in her hand. His grip around her wrist tightened and he dropped his forehead to hers.

“Stop it,” His husky voice hissed between clenched teeth.

Hearing the lust laced in his tone, Bonnie turned her chin up, ghosting parted lips over his. Damon growled deeper, needier and took her by the jaw, inhaling her life as he pinned her against the shelves of cereal. Lips brushing, boxes jostled around them and some smacked loudly as they wobbled and hit the floor.

Damon’s focus on the tempting redhead broke as he snapped his eyes to the disorder they had caused, and then up to a passerby he had, distractedly, let sneak up on them. The older brunette lady stared at them with disapproving eyes as she looked over their intimate position. With a visible shake of her head, she pushed her cart on, nose aimed high in superior disgust.

Looking back to Bonnie and how there was no space left between them, Damon took a large step backwards and detached them. A small giggle emanated from Bonnie as she straightened out her shirt and beamed up at him, bottom lip sucked between her teeth. She looked accomplished, even a little smug, and Damon hated the smile that quirked the corner of his mouth without his consent.

“Go get your damn cereal!” he barked, tilting his head down the length of the aisle ahead of them.

With a little skip, Bonnie turned and went back to choosing a cereal. She glanced back at Damon, forearms draped over the handle of the cart as he leaned over it, hungry eyes tracing her silhouette.

_Please get your cereal already…_

His pained tone touched her mind and she forced her eyes back to the wall of colorful boxes.

 _Sorry!_ She sent back.

Just then, two girls with interlocked arms passed behind her. She thought, for a moment, that it may be Elena and Meredith, returned from their grocery mission. But the girls giggled, and neither of them sounded like the sisters she knew so well. Whipping her head to the left, she saw two girls, around her age, dressed in tight leggings and baggy tees. Their perfect ombre hair ran down their backs in waves as they bashfully approached Damon, who flashed his signature smirk at them.

“Hi!” one of the girls greeted through tiny giggles.

“Um, this might seem forward but, we were just wondering if we could get your number?” the other asked nervously.

Damon let out a short chuckle as he straightened up from the cart, “Sure.”

One of the girls pulled out her phone excitedly and, with a few clicks, was prepared to type. Damon looked over their heads, eyes landing on hers. The fury in her features was clear and Damon winked at her. Her brows pulled together, unsure of how to take his gesture.

“My number is…” as Damon spouted off the number fluidly, a little bit of the possessiveness building up in her fizzled. That wasn’t Damon’s number.

“Thanks! So, uh, you don’t have a girlfriend, then?” The first girl asked.

Damon’s smirk grew, “A? I’m not really the monogamous type.”

Bonnie nearly vomited in her mouth and, grabbing a box of Apple Jacks rather violently off the shelf, she made her move. Marching back over to Damon, she threw the box into the cart and stood next to him, facing the gushing girls.

One of them, with big round glasses that she likely didn’t need, sized Bonnie up. Though taller, Bonnie was surprised to see how the girl seemed intimidated by her presence.

“Is this your girlfriend?” the bolder one asked, trying her best to maintain her confidence.

Damon shamelessly wrapped an arm around Bonnie, instantly melting her anger, and opened his mouth to respond. Bonnie cringed, awaiting his snarky reply.

“Actually, I am.” Elena appeared from around the corner and walked up next to Damon, standing tall and strong at his side.

Both girls looked over her, seemingly absolutely crushed as they witnessed the easy beauty she carried, the angelic glow about her person that not a single one of them could match as effortlessly.

“Oh, sorry! We were just, um…” the shorter of the two stumbled, losing all her prior confidence.

“Leaving?” Elena suggested with a biting smile.

Both girls hung their heads as they squeezed passed Bonnie and disappeared down an aisle. The redhead peeked up at Elena from under Damon’s arm, feeling just as bashful as the girls now. Elena’s lapis eyes were judgmental, unsettled as they turned to Damon.

“Relax. I was only humoring them,” he shrugged, “Makes it easier for me if I get hungry later.”

Elena scoffed, entirely appalled as she crossed her arms.

Damon’s eyes narrowed just slightly, “Do you expect me not to eat?”

Elena sighed, unable to hold onto her disgust. Though she hated the fact, he did need to eat.

“No.” she huffed, “But I mean, there are other ways…”

Damon smirked over his shoulder at her, “Like what?” Pulling Bonnie closer, he playfully craned down to her, “I could take a drink right now.”

Elena smacked his arm hard, but he remained unphased as Bonnie squirmed against him.

“You leave her alone!” Elena shouted.

Damon rolled his eyes and released his hold on Bonnie to pull Elena into his other side. “I’m only playing, love,” he told her in that low, sultry tone of his. Bonnie watched her melt, just like she always did, and Damon kissed her full on the cheek. She averted her gaze, noticing Meredith standing in the background, watching closely. Her emerald stare softened, offering a sympathetic smile. Bonnie only sighed.

“Alright, are we done now?” Damon asked, looking around at the group of girls.

Meredith came around front and dropped five of her favorite smoothies into the cart, each one clanging against the metal. She smiled brightly, “Now we are.”


	7. Revelation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright you amazing readers, get ready... ;)

That evening, Meredith had gone to spend the night with Alaric, leaving Bonnie alone with Damon and Elena. The petite redhead sighed as she stared into her foggy bathroom mirror, squinting her eyes at her misty reflection. The underside of her curls were darkened, having gotten damp from the shower. She crunched her hair in her hands, trying her best to make it pretty before she made her presence known downstairs, where _he_ was.

Dressing in her cutest pj set, a lacy, red camisole and matching lacy shorts, she dashed out into the hallway and to the stairs. She stopped, taking in a calming breath before making her descent. Everything would be fine. Water was easy to get. She would only have to pass by the living room for a moment on her way. It would be quick. Then she could go back upstairs and try her damnedest to do her schoolwork without getting distracted by him in the pajamas she knew he had on.

Making her way down each wooden step, Bonnie felt her heart pound harder. And with each shaky breath, she wished more and more that Meredith was there to keep her focused on a study other than the one named Damon Salvatore. Besides, that was one subject she knew much too well already.

Touching one foot to the bottom floor, butterflies burst in Bonnie’s stomach. Sucking in one more breath for courage, she began her walk to the kitchen. Trudging through the dim hallways, she came upon the entryway of the living room.

Damon’s lips were in a frenzy as he claimed Elena’s over and over, slowly lowering her down onto the couch. She moaned softly, driving him wild as he kissed her harder, letting his hand slide down her side. She gasped into his mouth as his hand slid beneath her shirt, drifting along her smooth skin. Damon groaned lowly, feeling the heat rush through his veins as his hand explored further. Elena’s hand came down to his, catching it over top of her shirt. He pulled back just enough to look into her heady lapis orbs, letting their breaths mingle.

“I’m not ready for that.” She breathed, almost apologetically.

Damon only nodded and let his thumb massage circles into her ribcage as he pressed his lips back to hers.

Tiny footsteps rang in his ears, and he almost pulled back to listen closer. But then they stopped, and a small, muffled cry replaced their noise. Inky orbs shot open, and Damon yanked himself upright just as Elena twisted herself around to look behind her. Every muscle in Damon’s body twisted painfully as his throat constricted and he swallowed hard, wincing as he looked over his favorite redheaded girl. She stood entirely still, but he could see how her tiny body shook. Her hands were plastered over her mouth, trying her best to stop the cries pouring uncontrollably from her lips. The large, starry eyes he loved to look into were dark and broken as fat tears streamed from them.

“Bonnie—” Damon began, interrupted by his own choke as the lost words got stuck in his throat.

Elena shut her eyes tight as she turned from her best friend, feeling more guilt than she had ever endured in her lifetime. But Damon was hers—

The thought stopped dead in its tracks as she stared up at the eldest Salvatore and watched his obsidian eyes fill with tears. His face was contorted in the most awful of ways, brows too low over such sorrowful blackholes. She watched the muscles in his jaw twitch as he ground his teeth. His throat bobbed as he swallowed too hard. Elena looked away from him, her own tears leaking from the corner of her eyes and falling into her hair. The pads of Bonnie’s feet were loud in her ears as they ran across the floor, retreating back towards the stairs. She felt Damon jerk, instinctually going after her. But he stopped himself, throwing himself back into the couch’s cushions and letting his head hang back.

Slowly, Elena pushed herself up onto her bottom, watching Damon with cautious eyes as he stared toward the ceiling. The dim light of the room caught a tear as it rolled down the side of his face and disappeared into his thick, raven waves. His throat bobbed again and Elena felt more droplets slip from her lashes. She had never seen him cry. Not one time in her life.

“Damon, I-I…” Elena’s wavering voice trailed off as his fingers curled into fists against the couch cushions. An audible sigh left his lips, and he shut his eyes tight. The light bounced off another tear as it made its way along the same track as the previous one. She curled her legs into her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees and pressing her lips into the skin there.

She waited for a few silent seconds, only hearing her heart pounding against her eardrums as adrenaline coursed through her system. Then Damon pulled his head upwards and wiped his eyes roughly before turning to her, “I’m sorry I’m so bad at this. I don’t want to hurt you, my princess, but I—just _please_ let me go talk to her.”

The plea beneath his tone caught her off guard, and she found herself nodding to him before her words could form to say yes. Her blue crystals followed another tear as it slipped from his lifeless orbs. It didn’t get far before he wicked it away with strong fingers.

With that, Damon stood, flying from the couch and up the stairs in seconds. The disturbance in the air caused a wind to whoosh around her, rustling her long strands as she sat alone in the living room, replaying their kiss, reliving his brokenness, and reevaluating his feelings for her best friend.

Damon’s eyes landed on Bonnie almost immediately as he reached the second story of the house. All the way down the long hallway, in the darkest corner nearest his bedroom, Bonnie sat on the cold floor curled up into a ball. Her legs were hugged all the way into her chest and her arms circled her head, pressed into her knees. Her entire body rocked as she bawled, fingers digging into the curls at the back of her head and pulling.

He rushed to her, going down onto his knees without hesitation as he reached her. “Redbird…” he touched his fingers to her arm, “let’s go talk.”

His fingers wound around her forearm, pulling it away from her slightly, “Hey, hey…look at me.” She gave no response, the only sounds from her mouth were the little cries that beat against his brain.

“Please look at me, baby,” he begged in his softest voice, prying her arms gently from their cage around her head. He leaned down, putting his lips at her ear through her mass of messy curls, “Come on, let me get you off this floor.”

Gently, he wrapped her arms around his neck and slid his arms underneath her trembling body. Taking her up effortlessly into his hold, he stood, carrying her bridal-style into his bedroom. Bonnie buried her face into the crook of his neck, wetting it with her steady stream of tears as she held tight to his shirt, scrunching the material up in her fists.

Holding his girl tight, he readjusted her to his front and wrapped her legs around him. With a small bounce, he hoisted her up higher just as he sat down onto the edge of his satin bedsheets. He held her with all the care in the world as she continued sniffling into his neck, dampening his shirt with her tears and wrinkling it with her tight grip. One hand went to the back of her hair, the other splaying against her spine as he pressed his cheek into the side of her head, cradling her.

Bonnie tightened her legs around his waist, squeezing him tight to her as wave after anguishing wave of heartache twisted her insides. Her breaths were ragged as her heart drummed against her ribcage, never slowing while the pain pulled her under, clenching her chest so tightly she found it hard to breathe.

“Shhhh,” Damon hushed softly into her ear, running his hand soothingly up and down her back.

“Why did you do that?!” she sobbed, sucking in audibly sharp breaths through each cry. “Didn’t you hear me?”

Damon held her tighter, brows furrowing as his eyes stung with unshed tears, “I—” How could he tell her that his mind wasn’t on her in that moment? How could he explain to her that he didn’t hear her because he was too busy listening to her best friend’s breaths? “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” That was the only truth he could bring himself to provide her.

She wrapped her limbs tighter around him, pulling herself flush against him and letting her hiccups die down, “Did you—” she squeezed her eyes shut and forced a question from her lips that she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to, “Have you done _things_ with her too? Like you have with—”

Damon sighed heavily and twisted them, lying Bonnie onto her back as he hovered over her, unable to tear himself from her hold. He looked into her glassy eyes, muddled with fears, insecurities, and torment. Brushing long fingers from her temple down to her lips, he let the pad of his thumb trace her upper lip, eyes following along its curve, “No.”

His midnight eyes met hers, and the chocolate irises searched deep into his darkest depths.

“Would you?” her fingers fiddled at the neckline of his shirt.

“Don’t do that.” His voice hardened.

“Do what?”

“Act like I’m being unfaithful when I never promised you anything.” Damon’s low voice rumbled in her ears like an earthquake on the verge of eruption.

More tears fell from her eyes as she blinked, lower lip trembling. Damon’s fingers were at her amber orbs instantly, softly brushing the droplets away.

He sighed, “I need to explore whatever is between Elena and I.” His fingers trailed a path into her strawberry tresses, contrasting in red hot spirals against the ominous, obsidian texture of his bed. He bent his forehead to hers and fisted his fingers in her curls. Letting a long breath from his nose, he reveled in the way her warm breath fanned along his lips, caressing them, begging them to part for hers, “I—”

Bonnie flung both hands up, covering his mouth, “I still feel you.”

Damon only stared at her, eyes roaming too deeply into hers. Her hands pulled slowly back from his mouth, “Every night. All night long.” Her heart sputtered and the lump in her throat grew. “It never goes away,” Her voice fell to a whisper.

With a throaty groan, Damon pushed off her and rolled onto his back beside her. Hands flat over his eyes, he growled and his fingers ran across each exhausted feature of his face as he pulled them back to his body. Her soft cries invaded his ears and he sighed hard, squeezing his eyes shut. Bringing his arm down between them, he caught her hand and held it tight. Dainty fingers wound through his, and even in their current circumstances, he could feel their energies clashing in the most pleasant of ways, mingling and massaging and molding. Her hand burned a path from his palm all the way into his veins, where the warmth rushed throughout all parts of him.

“The night I called you,” Bonnie sniffed, wiping her face with the back of the hand not in Damon’s, “when I was asleep?”

Her brown orbs searched through the darkness to the silhouette of his face, asking for wordless confirmation. Damon nodded for her to go on.

She swallowed her tears, “I couldn’t stop dreaming of the night we…”

Her soft voice faded, and Damon could see her blush through the darkness as he turned to her, “Had sex?”

She nodded, mussing her curls against the bedsheets. Though she couldn’t see Damon’s eyes, the intensity of his stare had every nerve in her body alight.

“You regret it, don’t you?” Damon winced at the agony laced in her broken voice.

In one, supernatural shift, Damon sped from the bed to the bedside table, flicking the lamp on and then Bonnie was being yanked upwards. Milky brown eyes surrounded by dampened lashes met Damon’s serious, coal black crystals. She could only shift between either eye as his gaze dominated hers. The reddened tip of her button nose nearly brushed his as he bent down to be eye-level with her.

Placing his fingers along the edges of the bed, at either side of her thigh, he began, “Bonnie, when I had sex with you that night, it wasn’t out of pity. I had sex with you because I _wanted_ to. So no, I don’t regret it.” He paused, letting his words wash over her as he raised a hand to her temple. His fingers brushed the skin there before raking along her scalp, the pad of his thumb tracing the shell of her ear. Her eyes fluttered shut, submitting to his touch. “I crave it,” he breathed.

“I’m so afraid to lose you, Damon.” She squeaked, catching his arm in both her hands and cuddling her cheek into his palm.

“Then don’t let go.”

Bonnie shot her eyes open, connecting her gaze to his, glistening with indecisive tears. Dark orbs flicked between hers and her heart fluttered at the need swirling there. His head shook, “I know its selfish but, just—just don’t push me away. Please…”

Bonnie jostled as he pushed his hand hard into the mattress, driving his desperation forward. Releasing his arm, she wound hers around his neck and tucked herself tight against him. She felt herself being lifted instantly and automatically wrapped her legs around his waist. Strong arms held her tightly, but gently, in a snug embrace.

“I can’t.” She crushed herself to him, marveling at the musky scent of him as she nuzzled her cheek into his silky hair, “I don’t want her to have you, Damon.” Tears leaked from her eyes and she squeezed them shut, inhaling his calming smell.

“You’re mine!” Bonnie cried, holding onto him tight.

A long breath came from Damon’s mouth, rustling the strawberry strands lying across Bonnie’s shoulder. His pained eyes looked to the ceiling in search of some sort of assistance. Finding none, his eyes rolled as they shut tight, and he buried his face into her fiery spirals, unable to find adequate words to make up some sort of response.

Confident steps made their way up the stairs, and Damon let Bonnie down. His head swam slightly as he felt her body sliding along his just a moment longer than he had prepared for until her feet hit the floor. Rather than detaching from him, her slender arms remained wrapped snuggly around his middle. Unable to find the will to push her away, Damon snaked an arm across her back, holding her firmly into his side. Then came the inevitable knock before the cracked door was cautiously pushed open.

Elena peeked her head in, attempting to hide the vexation simmering within her as she spotted Bonnie’s tight place against Damon. With a hard swallow, she forced a smile to her lips, “I just wanted to come check on you. Are you ok, Bonnie?”

Bonnie tightened her arms around Damon, looking back at Elena through narrowed eyes that weren’t quite hostile but—smug as she fitted herself against him like she owned him.

The possessive redhead nodded slowly, never loosening her grip, “I’m better now.”

Elena fought with her anger, struggling to keep the smile on her face as she gripped the handle of the door harder, “Good!”

Sensing the growing animosity between the two girls, Damon stepped in, “I was just taking Bonnie to her room, then I’ll come talk to you, ok?”

Elena kept her smile bright, friendly, “Ok.”

They passed Elena through the double doors and Elena couldn’t keep her eyes off the way Damon held himself unphased as he sauntered from the room with Bonnie following closely behind. She stared at Damon’s strong back and the way Bonnie’s hips swayed slightly as she waltzed along beside him.

Just before they disappeared around the corner, Elena watched Bonnie skip ahead and catch Damon’s arm. Dragging her fingers down his forearm, she interlaced the skinny digits between his.

Throwing her eyes over her shoulder, Bonnie peered back at Elena to see her lapis jewels encased in flames as she glowered at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo...were you surprised about Bonnie and Damon? Let me know!
> 
> See you all next time! :)


	8. Only You

“Promise you won’t just sit in the house all day?” Elena half whined as she took Damon’s hands into her own and squeezed. They both knew what her real concern was.

A small smirk tugged at his lips as he leaned down to take hers. An electric sweetness rushed through Elena, and she melted into him, lining her front with his. Damon stepped closer and they stumbled, lips never separating as they hit the door. Pinned between the wooden entrance and Damon, Elena smiled against his full lips and deepened their kiss. Damon’s fingers untangled from hers and slid up her sides, memorizing every curve of her feminine figure as his tongue slipped into her mouth. Elena squealed softly into his mouth just as his tongue grazed hers and she pushed him backwards, laughing breathlessly.

“Later. I have to go!” she giggled, covering Damon’s mouth with her hand as he tried his best to recapture her lips.

Damon kissed her palm once and stepped back, keeping his attacks at bay as he watched her straighten out her top. With a beaming smile, she waved at him as she stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

“See you this evening!” she called.

“Be careful!” Damon countered, catching the door and watching her hips sway as she walked to her car.

His eyes softened as he studied her: the way her form twisted and turned so angelically, the way her fair hair shined golden beneath the sunlight, and the way her lapis gems lit up at his stare.

Closing the door as her red, Volkswagen Beetle backed out of the driveway, Damon took in a deep breath and coughed involuntarily. His face screwed up at the scent of burning food invaded his nose. Rushing to the kitchen, Damon stepped into the hazy space to see Bonnie frantic as she shifted her pan from the hot burner to a cold one. Grabbing the blue checkered towel from the oven handle, she stood back and fanned the burnt food, wafting smoke into the air.

“Oh no, oh no…” Bonnie muttered to herself as she fanned the towel harder. Damon watched as the corner of the flapping cloth nearly touched the flames engulfing the metal prongs to her right.

Storming forward, Damon came up behind her and grabbed the towel she waved so carelessly in clumsy hands. Fisting his fingers into the material, he yanked it from her grip. Apologetic brown orbs met his and he stared back hard, irritation leaking through the rest of his face. Pulling her back from the stove, his fingers went to the switch of the burner still ablaze and flipped it off, extinguishing the gas fire.

Waving a hand over the smoking pan in attempt to clear the air, he looked into its blackened contents. Slabs of what was once turkey bacon lied shriveled and crispy in the pan.

Damon turned scornful eyes back onto her and she offered a nervous smile, tucking her hair behind one ear.

“I-I was trying to make breakfast…” she explained softly.

Damon looked around the kitchen, examining the counters for other foods, extra ingredients. But there was nothing else except the pack of opened turkey bacon lying next to the stove.

“This is the only thing you were making. How on earth did you burn it?” he questioned incredulously, eyes sweeping along the kitchen once more to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

Bonnie’s cheeks went red as she hung her head down and fumbled with her fingers, “I um—I was texting someone…”

Damon’s hard eyes landed back onto her shrinking form, blazing hot as the fires that had singed the bacon. “Who?” he demanded.

Bonnie gulped, unable to lie to him, but suddenly unable to speak as she peered up at him beneath her curls.

That was all the answer Damon needed. Growling, he turned his back to her and went to the stove, wrathfully taking the pan and nearly throwing it into the sink with a loud clang. Bonnie winced, staring at his back and watching the muscles there become apparent beneath his gray shirt as he flipped the water on and scrubbed to hard at the pan.

Sighing, Bonnie took timid steps to his side and looked at his fuming profile, “He text me, ok? He was just being nice and asking how I was doing. I’m supposed to be hurt, remember?”

Damon focused on his task, creating small tears in the scrubbing sponge being scraped extra hard along the inside of the pan, “Well you’re not, thanks to me. So maybe he should mind his own business.”

“He’s just being nice, Damon. It was a harmless conversation.” Bonnie explained softly, reaching out to touch his arm.

Small fingers made contact with his skin and he turned on her, glaring down into startled orbs. Bonnie recoiled, pulling her arms into herself as he towered over her.

“It’s never a harmless conversation, Bonnie! He isn’t texting you out of the kindness of his heart, he’s texting you to see if you’re healed up enough to hang out with him again. Because he’s bored…because he’s horny! He’s just trying to get into your pants by posing as the perfect gentleman, and you’re being stupid and falling for it!” Damon lashed out in his harshest tone.

Bonnie blinked back hot tears, “ _Or_ you’re just being presumptuous and inserting your opinion where it doesn’t belong because you think you’re so much smarter than all of us _humans!”_ Bonnie twisted the word into one of disgust, imitating Damon’s thoughts on the matter of immortality. “What do you know?! You’re over five hundred years old!”

“And more knowledgeable about life than you’ll ever be.” Damon growled, “And because I’ve lived through numerous generations, I can tell you, matter-of-factly, that I know what I’m fucking talking about.”

“So what?” Bonnie’s teary eyes glared right back into Damon’s, fear freezing her still while anger drove her tongue reckless, “You’re allowed to kiss Elena, but I’m not allowed to even _talk_ to another guy?!”

“Not one that wants to fuck you!”

Tears dripped from Bonnie’s narrowed eyes, “But I have to watch you sleep with my best friend like it’s nothing?!”

“We haven’t—”

Bonnie’s choked shout cut him off right as her hands came up to his chest, shoving him with all her might, “That’s so self—”

In one, hasty moment, Damon’s hands came up between her arms and pushed the dainty hands from his chest, then his lips were on hers. Bonnie’s resistance instantly faded as she molded her body to his, burying his fingers into the collar of his shirt, desperate for any attempt to pull him closer. The balls of her feet ached as she stretched her toes up to their limits, reveling in the taste of him.

The rage boiling in Damon’s veins shifted and intensified, igniting a similar but much more pleasurable flame within him. Every piece of him bathed in the fire tuning his nerves to her heat. Her lips parted beneath his and his tongue dove in, tangling with hers as his fingers, damp from the sink, did the same in her ruby ringlets. Bonnie moaned and hitched one leg around his hip, doing anything in her power to bring him closer. Her dizzy mind settled on cloud 9 as Damon’s long fingers took hold of her waist and hoisted her onto the countertop. Their heavy breaths mingled as Damon hungrily closed his lips around hers and wrapped an arm around her back. He yanked her forwards, pressing her tightly into him. Bonnie’s fingers raked through raven tresses, floating on the high of him as she locked him tight between her legs. The low growl rumbling in his throat, released into her mouth and her brows furrowed as the sound sent electrifying shivers through her system. Her thighs squeezed around his waist and the muscles in Damon’s arm flexed as he pressed her pelvis ever closer to his body. Using his other hand, his fingers glided upward along her throat until they reached the base of her jaw, where they angled her head back.

Bonnie whimpered as flashbacks to their night of lovemaking burst in her brain. As his tongue explored every crevice of her mouth, the mental images tortured her with how he had kissed her the same way then, rocking in and out of her in a rhythm that had wrapped every nerve in spirals of pleasure. Winding her arms tight around his neck, her hips rolled, sock-clad toes curling behind his back. She felt his lips curve against hers and she broke their kiss, letting her lips ghost his.

“I want to do it again,” she said a little shyly through heavy breaths.

Damon shook his head lightly, letting the hand on her jaw dive into her curls, “I know, but—”

“Just one more time. Elena won’t find out.” Bonnie begged, desperation dripping from her tone.

Every inch of Damon itched to take her up on her offer, but still, his head shook, “It won’t be just one more time if I take you now. You know that.”

Bonnie’s lips took his again in a few short kisses. “Is that a bad thing?” she breathed, going in for another kiss.

Damon stopped her, keeping his lips just centimeters from her reach, “Bonnie, I can’t have sex with you again, not while I’m trying to figure things out. It isn’t fair to you.”

“Please!” Bonnie tried once more, tears springing in her eyes.

Taking his fingers from her hair, Damon let his thumb trace her lower lip, “I can’t. I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I already have.”

The wall of tears building over Bonnie’s chocolate irises broke, spilling down her face, “So you can be with her and not me…”

Damon released his hold on her to take her face in both his hands, “I’m not sleeping with anyone, Bonnie!”

Blurry orbs connected with his, and he winced inwardly at the pain there, letting his thumbs caress her cheeks, “Only you, ok? Only you.”

Bonnie nodded, reaching up and clutching his hand in hers. “Ok,” she whimpered, using her free hand to dry her eyes.

Feeling the exhaustion set into his brain, constantly at war, he huffed and went down onto his elbows, laying his head against her chest. Her heart thumped loudly in his ears and her blood rushed inches from his mouth, giving off a sweet perfume. He let his eyes shut, finding comfort in the sounds of her as her aura wrapped around him, cuddling light into darkness. Slender fingers went into his disheveled hair and played, slipping black silk between fingertips and twirling the soft waves around delicate digits. Damon nuzzled into her breast, his tense energy calming at her touch.

The door to the kitchen opened suddenly.

“Oops…” said a familiar female voice.

Damon’s eyes shot open to see Meredith standing there, running her perceptive, cat-eyes all over them: the way they stood, the way they touched, everything.

Damon groaned to himself and stood straight, feeling the loss as Bonnie’s hands fell from his hair.

Meredith chucked a thumb over her shoulder, “Should I come back?”

Damon noticed Bonnie’s small sigh as he shook his head, “No, we just finished up.”

With that, Damon took Bonnie under the arms and pulled her from the countertop. Setting her gently back onto her feet, he leaned down and pecked her cheek softly, “I’m going to go get you some real breakfast. What do you want? I’ll get you anything.”

He ran his fingers through her curls, as she thought about her options, letting his fingers brush down the side of her face. He could feel Meredith’s eyes on him as she walked by to the pantry. After a few seconds, Bonnie’s large, brown eyes lit up. Damon couldn’t help the smile that pulled his lips.

“Can I have one of those egg sandwiches from Dunkin?” she asked like a child picking out ice cream.

“With the croissant?” Damon asked, knowing exactly how she’d want it made.

Bonnie smiled, “Mhmm,” she hummed.

Damon looked up to Meredith, who had her back turned momentarily, and he dipped down, kissing the eager girl quickly. Except it wasn’t quick, because Bonnie latched onto him, taking his face in her hands and crushing her lips to his. And _that_ feeling coursed through him. He couldn’t shake her, so he kissed her back even harder, not caring if Meredith saw anymore. The longer he held his lips to hers, the more he felt himself slipping, falling back into her. Every part of him shifted to fit her, his body attempted to mold to hers, his lips started into that slow rhythm he subconsciously knew she loved best, and even his breath began to compliment hers, so that her air was all he took into his lungs.

He pulled back, finding himself before he was entirely lost. He couldn’t afford to lose so much control in front of the overanalyzer.

With a small clear of his throat and a swallow of the last remnants of her taste, he straightened up and caught Meredith’s judgmental gaze. “I’ll be right back,” He promised Bonnie, and flashed out the backdoor to his car.

The dazed redhead licked her lips and turned to Meredith, looking at her with a captious expression. Bonnie blushed, pulling at the end of her hair, “What?”

Meredith walked over and grabbed a bowl from the cabinet as she shook her head. She began pouring cereal from the box, “I’m guessing that isn’t the first time that you and Damon have kissed since he gave you blood…?”

Meredith threw Bonnie a look over her shoulder, and the redhead blushed harder, only shaking her head in response. Her lower lip found its way between her teeth and she bit into it.

Rolling the crunchy plastic liner up and closing the box, Meredith plopped the box down onto the counter and sighed, turning on an anxious Bonnie, “I’m also guessing that Elena doesn’t know about any of it?”

Bonnie swallowed hard, trying to keep the guilty tears at bay as she shook her head again, awaiting Meredith’s commination. But the olive-skinned girl only got in the fridge, took out milk, and poured it into her bowl of cereal. Twisting the lid back onto the milk she shoved it back into the compartment on the door of the refrigerator and then turned to Bonnie. Sticking a spoon in her cereal and taking a big bite, she crunched for a moment, leaving Bonnie in enormous anticipation as she looked up to the ceiling in contemplation.

“I’m not going to tell on you, if that’s what you’re thinking. You’re my best friend just as much as Elena,” Meredith began.

Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief.

“But can I ask you something?”

Bonnie nodded.

“What happens if Damon picks Elena?” the concern rolling around in her emerald jewels struck Bonnie.

“U-Um, I—I don’t—”

Meredith’s strong voice cut her off, “Because he could leave, and then what? You’re putting all your eggs in one basket and its honestly not a very stable basket!” she dipped her spoon into her cereal, continuing on her rant, “I just don’t know what’s going to happen to you if he isn’t around, and I don’t—”

Soft sobs hit Meredith’s ears and she held her tongue. Shooting her eyes up to Bonnie, she saw her strawberry curls falling around her face, now in her hands. Her entire frame trembled as she cried. Meredith’s gaze softened, brunette brows stitching in concern. Setting her cereal bowl down, she went over to Bonnie and took her up in a gentle embrace. Petting red ringlets, Meredith soothed her as best she could.

“Shhh, shhh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you. I was being inconsiderate.” Meredith apologized, rubbing Bonnie’s back as the redhead cried into her, hands still over her eyes.

Meredith knew then that it was too late. No matter what, Bonnie was going to be an absolute mess if Damon didn’t pick her, and there was nothing she could do to protect her from it.

“I don’t want to lose him, Meredith!” Bonnie wept, “I l-love him!”

Tears stung Meredith’s eyes as they formed for her smallest friend. It was right then that the brunette felt bad for Bonnie. Here was a girl, giving her whole heart to a man she thought she had, only to be pulled from that chance by her own best friend. And now everything was hanging in the balance, all because of Elena’s return. Anger rose in her for just a moment, and she cursed Elena in her head before letting the hate dissipate. It wasn’t Elena’s fault. She was dealing with her feelings the best way she knew how. As much as she hated to admit it…so was Damon. She couldn’t imagine being any one of them, because she knew she’d have gone insane, and all three of them weren’t too far off from doing that very thing. Bonnie was breaking down, Elena was becoming more and more jealous, and Damon was drowning in confliction. Their little group was in absolute disarray!

Meredith sighed, blinking back the tears and hugging Bonnie tighter, “You’re not going to lose, Damon, ok? You’re not.”

“But you said—” Bonnie muffled voice cried.

“Forget what I said,“ Meredith interrupted. “I was just venting. Damon isn’t just going to leave you, alright? I know it.”

Meredith held Bonnie until her tears began to quiet, offering up as much comfort as she could muster.


	9. Invitation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a long one! Enjoy the conflict! XD

Elena’s classes ended for the evening, and she text Damon that she was heading home. Bonnie was on the couch, lounging in an oversized t-shirt and grey, cloth shorts. Her legs were extended towards Damon, sitting at the other end of the sofa watching a video on his phone. Her toes, wrapped in blue fuzzy socks, were tucked cozily under his thigh. Bonnie shivered as Damon idly traced along the length of her bare leg with the tips of his fingers. Reading one of the books mandatory for class, she smashed her lips together as Damon’s fingers trailed along her inner thigh, sending delicious shivers down her spine. She tried again to read the sentence she had been staring at for the last ten minutes. It was impossible to concentrate with him around, let alone touching her.

Suddenly, Damon withdrew his hand and pressed the touchscreen of his phone, acting as if he were doing something. Bonnie knew better. Keys jingled at the front door and then it squeaked open.

“I’m home!” Elena called, not too far away.

Bonnie pulled her toes from under Damon’s thigh and tucked them closer to herself. Her fingers dug into the softback of the book in her hands, bracing herself for their interaction.

“We’re in here!” Damon yelled back, but didn’t get up to go greet her, or even move to another couch. Bonnie smiled a little at that.

The dance-like waltz that could only belong to Elena drew near as her wedge shoes tapped across the hard-wood floors. Then, there was another set of shoes, sneakers, walking in behind her. Bonnie felt Damon tense. Peeking over her textbook at him, she noticed the scowl dragging his features downward, and her nerves spiked.

Lifting herself up and peering over the couch, Bonnie’s eyes nearly fell onto the floor as she saw Eric trailing in behind Elena.

“Look who I ran into on campus!” Elena’s pearly teeth shined behind her bright smile as she gestured to Eric.

The dirty-blonde boy waved at Bonnie. Pulling her jaw from the floor, Bonnie managed a small smile, “H-Hey…”

Damon shot up from his seat and turned to them, throwing his phone down onto the couch and crossed his arms over his puffed chest, “Eric, nice to see you again,” he greeted through grinding teeth.

He turned a tight gaze onto Elena, speaking with same strained tone, “Why is he in my house?”

Eric teetered up and down on his feet, scratching awkwardly at the back of his head.

Elena stood firmly against Damon’s aversion, hands on her hips, “I invited him over for dinner.”

Damon’s eyes narrowed, making them even darker as he stared directly at Elena. Eric took their silent confrontation as a chance to sneak by and he tiptoed around Elena to go over to Bonnie. Kneeling down at her side, Bonnie’s breath caught in her throat as she wore a bright, nervous smile.

“Hey! Elena told me you were out of your bandages now. She said the sprain wasn’t that bad and that you were pretty much healed up now. I’m glad to hear it, but that was pretty different from what you text me this morning.” Eric said in his gentlest tone, easing Bonnie’s nervousness slightly.

“Um, yeah. I was just hurting this morning. I think I must’ve slept weird.”

“Well, hey, you look great!” Eric smiled his goofy grin at her and she couldn’t help but giggle as an authentic smile replaced her forced one.

“Thank you.”

“Maybe we can start hanging out again, if you feel ok?” Eric asked, trailing his fingers along her arm and taking her hand in his.

Her earlier argument with Damon popped into her head and her smile faltered a bit, “Um, yeah. Yeah, we can hang out again.”

Her eyes shifted to Damon, now glaring at her predatorily. Sucking in a deep breath, she sat up and threw her arms around Eric’s neck in a loose hug. Eric pulled her in tighter, and she pretended to wince.

“Still sore?” Eric asked in her ear.

“Uh, yeah. A bit.” Bonnie answered, gently pushing Eric back so Damon didn’t snap his neck.

The glowering vampire’s footsteps smacked heavily along the floor as he walked over to Elena, kissed her cheek, and took her into a tense embrace.

“Where’s Meredith?” Elena asked, keeping the subject off the tension between the four of them.

“She’s on a date with Alaric tonight.” Damon answered, trying his best to keep his tone light.

“I figured we could order Chinese?” Elena suggested, playing the skin just beneath the hem of Damon’s shirt.

Tingles lingered there, simmering at the places her finger skimmed, “I don’t eat. I don’t care what you order.”

Damon fished his wallet from the back pocket of his joggers and dug out his Visa. Slipping it between two fingers, he handed it to her. Elena took his lips in a quick peck and grabbed the card, pulling out her phone and looking up a number.

“Is fried rice ok with everyone?” Elena called to Bonnie and Eric, focused in a quiet conversation.

“Fine with me!” Eric called back.

Bonnie nodded.

Placing the containers of fried rice around the table, Elena shoved serving spoons into each steaming meal and found her seat to the left of Damon, sitting like a royal at the head. Eric absentmindedly waltzed up to the chair at Damon’s right and took hold of its back. A powerful hand slapped down onto the chair’s arm and restrained it. Never releasing his grip, Damon stood from his chair, eyes in menacing slits as they stared at Eric.

“How nice of you to pull the chair out for Bonnie!” He walked closer to an intimidated Eric, wrapping strong fingers around the back of the chair. The human boy easily let Damon take his place as he took a few steps back, feeling suddenly crowded.

“But you’re our guest. Please, sit. I’ll get her chair.” Damon gestured to the seat next to Bonnie as he pulled out the chair and ushered the anxious redhead to take her seat.

A light pink color painting her cheeks, Bonnie hurriedly sat down, thanking Damon in a soft voice as he scooted her into the table. Elena was in a permanent smile as she looked across the table at Bonnie. The red-haired girl gulped, pushing a bush of fiery curls behind one ear as she offered a friendly smile back. The alabaster blonde reached for the serving spoon first but Damon’s hand clasped around hers in the most delicate of motions.

“Let me, princess.” Damon flashed his most alluring smile at her, causing the same light pink to flush along her cheeks.

“Thank you.” She beamed, and Bonnie noted how this smile actually touched her eyes, making the deep blue lighter somehow.

Following Damon’s gentlemanly display, Eric followed suit. Taking one of the spoons and digging into the pile of veggie and meat filled rice, Eric brought a focused hand over to Bonnie’s plate. Dumping a helping of fried rice onto her plate, Bonnie smiled at him gratefully as their eyes locked.

“Thank you!” she chirped.

“Of course.” Eric answered smoothly, his smile turning vaguely smug along his thin lips.

Elena’s gaze traveled over to Damon as something shook in her peripheral vision. The old serving spoon in his hand trembled slightly as he gripped it so tightly that his knuckles went white. Lapis eyes wide, Elena touched her hand gently to his arm, snapping him from his wrathful stare. She watched the stony haze peel away as the obsidian softened to meet her. Using her eyes, she gestured to the spoon in his iron hold and he loosened his grip, setting the cutlery onto his plate.

Elena’s eye bulged briefly at the sight of the spoon, completely crinkled like it was nothing more than the paper covering a straw. Her fingers collided with Damon’s as they both acted quickly to conceal the unnatural damage.

Just as Bonnie and Eric looked over at their commotion, Damon flicked the spoon into the floor.

“Oh, let me just get tha—” Damon began to lean down to the floor over the arm of his chair.

Elena stood, cutting him off, “No. I’ve got it! I’ll take it to the sink.”

Popping back up from the floor with the crumpled spoon in hand, Elena shot Damon a warning look as she sped over to the sink and hid the metal beneath other dirty silverware lying there.

Damon shoved his fork into the rice and then up into his mouth. Releasing a long sigh through his nose, he chewed aggressively, not enjoying one bit of the tasteless rice and vegetables running along his tastebuds.

Bonnie stared warily at the human food eating vampire before her gaze snapped back to Eric, attempting to talk her ear off. She nodded at him, smiling and laughing when necessary as he told her all about his interactions with a group project in a mandatory science lab.

“So Eric,” Damon began, “What are you studying?”

“Oh, um, I major in History.”

A wicked smirk tugged at Damon’s lips as he flicked a dastardly gaze over to Bonnie. She glared back.

“What are you planning to do with a degree in history? Teach?” Damon asked, too snarkily for Bonnie’s liking.

Eric shrugged, taking a swig of water, “Not sure yet. I’m not opposed to teaching.”

Damon opened his mouth but Bonnie’s foot collided with his shin, kicking him hard under the table. Shutting his lips into a sick smile, he brought his glass of water to his lips, letting the flavorless liquid washing down the biting comments he had prepared.

Eric went on, “We learned a lot about Fells Church the other day actually. Did you know that the city has legends of vampires associated with it?!”

Bonnie choked on her water, nearly spitting it back into the glass.

“I know!” Eric laughed, “Crazy right?!”

Bonnie patted her lips and chin dry with a napkin, “Yeah…” her meek response wavered.

Damon swallowed loudly and set his glass down onto the table with a loud clank, the smirk only growing more devious across his lips as he listened to Eric talk. Elena, having returned to her seat, shifted uncomfortably.

Eric continued on, “Apparently some European family that townsfolk claimed were vampires migrated to Virginia a few hundred years back. That’s the story anyway.”

“So how did the townsfolk get rid of these ‘vampires’?” Damon asked, putting air quotes around himself. “I mean,” he spread his arms out wide and gestured around the room, “no vampires here, right? So how’d they kill them?”

“Damon…” Elena warned quietly.

Damon ignored her, flashing his perfectly white teeth behind parted lips. Something about them settled unease in the pit of Eric’s stomach.

“Uhm…” Eric began, thinking back to his history class.

Bonnie clenched her clammy fists into the material of her t-shirt, wrinkling the lime green cotton. She swallowed hard and inhaled deep, trying to calm her apprehensive heart.

Eric put a skinny finger to his lips, “I think it was something about a public staking. But of course, those were just innocent people. Kind of like the witch trial thing…”

The entire table seemed to freeze.

Damon’s loud laughter broke the sudden silence as he placed both elbows onto the table, leaning towards Eric, “You don’t believe in witches either?”

“Nah! All of that stuff is just myth.” Eric waved Damon off.

Damon sat back in his seat, letting a chilling smile creep along his lips.

_Great man, my love…_

Bonnie blushed, scratching awkwardly at the side of her throat as she peered over at Damon behind her curtain of curls. He winked at her, taking another swig of water. Glancing at Elena, the blonde twirled her silky strands around her finger. Bonnie could see the gears in her head turning as she thought of ways to divert conversation.

“So what’s your favorite time period in history, Eric?” Elena shifted the conversation easily.

As Eric began to talk, Bonnie drowned him out, getting lost in her own thoughts as she picked at her food. Eric was here, being sweet, being cute, being…not _Damon_. She sighed, stabbing a pea with her fork rather violently.

Dinner wrapped up and Elena said her goodbyes, Damon giving a forced wave of departure, as Bonnie walked Eric out.

“I know you and Damon are close, but I have to say, not a fan of the guy,” Eric admitted as they stepped outside.

“He’s just not a people person.” Bonnie mediated.

Eric threw a lanky arm around her shoulders as they walked down the long pathway to his truck.

“I think what you mean to say is he’s not a _male_ person. He’s definitely a lady’s man.” Eric chuckled, pulling Bonnie close against his side.

Bonnie giggled despite the pain that radiated through her at just how true that statement actually was. It was nice, being with someone who only wanted her for just a moment in time. It was easy to bask in his company, no matter how brief.

Reaching his truck, Bonnie turned, ready to give him a hug. Instead, she was met with his lips. Startled, she stiffened as his lips moved against hers. In a second, her brain had run through the past few days, how Damon had kissed her, how his lips felt, how he had kissed her best friend…

Shutting her eyes tight, she forced her muscles to loosen and she kissed him back, pressing her lips hard against his. It was nice, it was tender, but the tiny sparks seemed to linger in her lips and fizzle out, never reaching her bloodstream, never playing with her heart. Though disappointing, some part of her liked the fact that she could kiss him and not feel anything from it. It was easy, just like his presence.

Eric pulled back, icy eyes sparkling against the red-hued sunset. His tongue snuck out to lick his lips and he smiled goofily, but beautifully all the same. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a minute now,” he chuckled.

Bonnie smiled and threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Eric circled his arms around her back, pulling her into him and squeezing her gently.

“I’ll text you when I get home, ok?” Eric’s voice whispered in her ear.

“Ok.” Bonnie replied, stepping out of his embrace and waving to him as he got in his truck and turned the key. The engine sparked to life and Bonnie turned, walking back into the boarding house.

Halfway, she jumped and stopped in place as the front door swung open and smacked into the stone entryway of the house. The glass window of the door shattered. Boots stomped through the broken pieces, crunching beneath powerful soles. He had seen.

Bonnie gulped as Damon stormed around the corner, looking angrier than she had ever seen him. Tremors ran through her body, adrenaline pumping along her bloodstream as she faced him. His aura was black and impenetrable as he approached her like a charging bull. Nervous feet took clumsy steps backwards as she realized that she was the red flag. Every logical part of her brain screamed at her to run, but her heart chanted what she knew best, he would not hurt her.

“Damon!” Elena screamed, yards behind him at the door.

“What the _fuck_ was that?!” Damon barked in his harshest tone.

Every muscle in her body startled at the pitch of his voice; tears instantly sprung in her eyes, “Damon, please…”

“Please _what?!_ Don’t be mad?! Is that what you were going to say?!” his voice boomed, and Bonnie shrunk beneath his hostile presence.

“It was just a kiss,” a few tears betrayed her steady outside, alerting him to how she crumbled within.

Damon wasn’t anywhere close to being able to hear her as he ranted on in a thunderous tone, “Are you trying to get back at me?! Is that it?!”

Bonnie shook her head, “N-No, I—”

“This is your attempt to retaliate because I’ve hurt you, right?! You want to get back at me somehow by kissing random guys!”

“No—” Bonnie squeaked, interrupted once more. Inklings of rage tingled in her veins. Jittery fingers fisted at her sides.

“Or better yet, you’re trying to find someone similar, someone better?! Well honey, you can kiss a hundred men, not _one_ will ever make you feel like _I do!”_ Damon pounded at his chest, dark eyes burning on a bed of hot coals as they seared into hers, nostrils flaring.

More tears fell down Bonnie cheeks and her anger bubbled over, “I never want another guy like _you!_ I don’t want someone who can’t choose me! I don’t want to go through every day having to worry about who the guy I like is kissing, and then have to be ok with it when I find out it’s my best friend! I don’t want to be so desperate for someone _ever again!_ It’s exhausting and I _hate_ it! I kissed Eric because, for once, it was _simple!_ I didn’t have to feel guilty about it, I didn’t have to worry if it would ever happen again, and I didn’t have to have so many damn _feelings_ over it!”

Bonnie’s chest heaved, chocolate orbs flooding with more tears as she teetered on the edge of a breakdown.

Meredith’s SUV pulled into the garage. Entering through the back door, she tossed her keys onto the counter as her ears picked up faint yelling. Brows turning down over emerald eyes, Meredith rushed towards the source of the noise and found herself in the foyer looking at a shattered front door. The arguing was much louder now. Meredith groaned to herself, lolling her head up to the ceiling.

Damon stood in front of her, clenching and unclenching his hands, muscles in his jaw growing ever tighter, and eyes nearly on fire as they narrowed into slits so sharp all she could see was black.

Her pulse pounded as she stood against him, glaring back through blurry orbs, “You have no right to get mad at me for kissing Eric!”

Damon’s teeth ground as he snarled through them, “Oh yes, I fucking do!”

Bonnie shook her head in disbelief, “How can you stand there and say tha—”

The severity of Damon’s voice only rose as he cut her off, “Because you’re mine! You’re _my_ girl! NOT HIS!”

Bonnie could only stare at his seething form, stunned as her ears processed his roaring words. She watched a single tear trail from Damon’s eyes as they began to fizzle out of their fire, and his body relaxed just the slightest bit. He intense gaze pierced into hers, his breaths coming just as harshly as her own.

A distant sob broke his attention and he whirled around just as Elena long blonde hair disappeared back through the doorway.

“Fuck…” he grumbled, “Elena!” he called, immediately rushing after her.

His musky scent lingered around Bonnie, caressing her, asphyxiating her as she breathed only him. A sob broke through her tender throat and she dropped to the pavement, curling her knees into her chest and weeping into her hands.

Elena rushed passed Meredith suddenly as she barreled through the door and up the stairs, not even noticing that she was there.

“Elena?” Meredith asked, rushing to the staircase and hanging over the railing to peer up to the second floor.

Damon whooshed into the house then and nearly up the stairs, but Meredith caught him by the arm.

“Woah!” she flung her arms out at her sides in question, “What the _hell_ is going on?!”

Damon brushed her off. “Bonnie’s outside,” he muttered and ran up the stairs after his broken princess of darkness.

“Alaric told me to stay the night…I should’ve listened.” She mumbled to herself, going out the door and cautiously walking across the broken glass, her high-tops crushing it into even tinier shards.

She sighed and made her way to the ball of Bonnie curled up on the cement.

Elena shoved Damon’s hands off her shoulders, “Don’t touch me!”

Tears streamed down her face, and her hands patted her cheeks dry, “I’m so sick of dealing with this!”

The water building in Damon’s eyes blurred his vision as he dug his fingers into his palms, trying his best not to touch her, “Elena, please let me—”

“No! No!” Elena waved her hands, “You promised! You _keep_ promising, and every time I turn around, you’re letting her in somehow!”

Slender fingers came up to pink lips, covering her sobs, “I’m trying to be patient, Damon. I am! But you’re constantly affected by everything Bonnie does! You’re always butting into her life!”

Elena stared into Damon’s solemn abysses, his lips parted in speechless movement.

“Why do you think I invited Eric over, tonight?” she cried.

Damon swallowed hard at the revelation, guilt eating at his nerves.

“I was hoping that he and Bonnie would grow closer. So Bonnie would move on and you could focus on us. But after what I saw…” Elena shook her head, tears trailing in unstoppable streams, “I know that’s not possible.”

Damon stepped forward, reaching out to take her into his arms. Elena stepped back, pulling her arms around herself like a shield from the pain he could so easily inflict. His arms dropped back to his sides in defeat.

“Did you kiss her?” Elena began, lapis oceans glistening in their storm, “The night you healed her, did you kiss?”

Head lolling back to the ceiling in lament, Damon’s hands clamped down onto the edged of Elena’s dresser as he supported himself against it. He growled, letting his head hang low between his arms. The veins there bulged as every muscle tensed. Tears dripped from his dark lashes onto the wooden flooring.

Elena’s heart dropped into the pit opening in her stomach, but still, she waited for words of confirmation, hoping—praying that his actions weren’t admission.

Fingers digging into the hardwood, Damon pounded a fist down onto the dresser, rattling every single trinket decorated along its top. Images of the night in question flooded his mind, and he hated himself for cherishing every one that tore through the guilty parts of his brain.

“Yes…” he admitted softly, wiping a hand down his damp face.

Elena swiped her tears away as anger began to heat up her cool skin, “What?”

Pushing off the dresser, Damon turned back to her, standing tiredly tall. His truthful eyes locked with hers, and he winced at the words that fell from the tip of his tongue, “Yes, we kissed that night.”

Elena’s eye lit up in azure flames and she swung her hand hard, connecting it with Damon’s cheek in a loud slap. Damon’s head barely turned against her hand, but the contortion of his face let her know he had felt it. Sobs broke erratically through her lips as she broke down, falling to the floor.

“I’m sorry…” Damon whispered, throat bobbing as he gulped.

Looking down at her as she wept on the floor, Damon’s fingers itched to run through her hair, to soothe her somehow. His arms wished to wrap around her, to curb her trembling. His lips desired nothing more than to sing sweet nothings into her ears, to hush her cries, to reassure her in any manner he could. But all he could do was listen to her sorrows and endure them as they ripped through his heart.

Elena’s hands stayed glued to her face, fingers clawing just above her fair brows, “Have you—” another cry broke from her lips.

Damon kneeled down slowly, brows stitching together as he focused every ounce of his attention on her.

“Have you told her you’re in love with her?”

Damon’s head dropped, a long breath releasing through his lips, and he fell back onto his bottom, raking his hands through his hair.

Long black strands tickled his nose as he leaned close to his bent knees, shaking his head, “No.”

“You should.”

Damon’s gaze shot up to her.

Elena got onto wobbly knees, “Because I can’t do this anymore.”

Damon got onto his knees then, rushing over to Elena and taking her face in his hands. Pushing at his arms, his strength remained resistant to her efforts and she let her hands rest defeatedly around his wrists, shoulders slumping as she dropped back onto her heels. Damon scooted closer, caressing the skin along her cheekbones.

“Please, don’t say that! I love you—so much! You know I do! My feelings for you haven’t changed! I need you still…”

Endless tears dripped from her eyes as she closed them, “But you need her too…”

Damon sighed, touching his forehead to hers, “I know I’ve made a mess of things. I know this isn’t fair to you, but I’m selfish when it comes to you. I can’t make you stay, but I’ll be damned if I don’t try.” His fingers tightened along her face and he shook it hard but with all the tenderness he held for her, “What can I do to keep you?”

Elena’s head shook against his and she cried out softly as her fingers tightened around his wrists, “I’ll stay. I’ll stay.”

Lapis eyes turned up to his, “But only as long as you stay away from her…”

Damon tensed up, and the thought of not having his favorite redhead left a hole in his heart. It bled, leaking out into all cavities and festering its sickness in his soul. Swallowing down the vile torment swelling up his throat, he nodded against her, desperate to keep her, to do right by her. He owed it to her after all he had put her through. He wouldn’t mess up again.

“Done.” He sealed his agreement in stone.


	10. Shattered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers! You guys are awesome! I really appreciate anyone following along with this story. As always, hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll be working on this story's sequel/second part soon.... ;)

His ears picked up on her footsteps just as he entered the hallway, and he pressed on, walking faster, putting each foot to the ground harder. His muscles tensed as her aura brushed his, teasing his barriers, begging him to let her in. He focused his hearing on the confident stomp of his boots along the floor as her heartbeat fluttered at the mere sight of him. Still, he pushed on, passing right by her as she reached out to him.

“Damon…” she called, and his feet stopped on instinct. He cursed every cell in his body for bending to her will the way they did so naturally.

Taut jaw muscles clashing his teeth together, he turned to her, daring his eyes to be blind to her beauty.

“What, Bonnie?” he asked, laying cautious eyes on her timid form.

Shyly, the redhead walked forward, and Damon clenched the fists dying to grab her and yank her against him.

She twiddled with her fingers, wringing them as her chocolate irises shifted from the floor to him and back again. Damon braced himself against her pull.

“I-I—um…I wanted to talk. About what you said…” she began softly.

Damon sighed softly, tired eyes slipping a slow blink, “What about it?”

“You got, um—just—really possessive, and—”

With a pull of his brows, Damon shook his head slowly, “I spoke out of line. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

With that, he turned, hoping to end the conversation as he took another step. Ten, slender fingers caught his arm, stilling him gently. Something like electricity jolted him and created a light buzzing beneath his skin. He swallowed hard, and let his gaze fall onto hers.

Bonnie fiery brows furrowed, “Can we just talk? Please?”

Damon struggled to stay afloat as her amber eyes threatened to pull him under, but he was a strong swimmer for a creature of the night. Breaking their gaze, he tore his arm from her grasp and stepped back. A burn tore through his chest and he winced as he looked up her terrified face.

“No! I’m through talking. We can’t keep doing this, Bonnie. We’re just going in circles and I’m done. I just need to focus on Elena right now, ok?!” his words stung her heart like a thousand knives.

Bonnie’s lower lip quivered alongside her trembling frame. Tears built in her eyes, making Damon’s appearance nothing more than a blurry fantasy.

Damon grimaced, hearing the way her heart pounded in agonizing thuds against her ribcage. And then she turned and ran to her room, leaving only soft cries to rattle against Damon’s eardrums until it hurt. Digging his nails into his palms, he felt the skin there break. But he felt nothing, not an ounce of pain as the deep ruby liquid seeped beneath his fingernails. Suddenly, his throat tightened, the moisture lining it seeming to evaporate, and he picked up his pace to the cellar.

Breaking the freezer open, he yanked a blood bag out from the box leaking billows of frosty air onto the floor’s metal surface. His eyes poured black as his teeth descended into sharp fangs, and he bit, shoving his razor canines straight through the plastic and into the blood. He drank feverishly, squeezing the bag as he sucked harder through the bitter plastic barrier he abhorred. Inky gaze remaining focused on the blank wall in front of him, Damon ingested every last drop of the crimson liquid—but still his throat tightened, his muscles twisted under waves of tension, and the stabbing in his chest wouldn’t let up.

Throwing the blood bag onto the floor, Damon growled loudly and threw his fists into the ashy cellar walls. Each hard knuckle dented deep pockets in the outline of his fists, as if the concrete was a sponge against his hand. Dust from the ceiling fell as he bared his fangs at nothingness, punching the jostling foundation over and over again until a loud shatter allowed his hand through the wall entirely.

Pulling his fist from the inside of the wall, Damon shook off the debris and stumbled backward, chest heaving as he stared at the mess he had made with a lazy smile. The stabbing had stopped.

Lying in between his silk sheets, Damon stared at the fan above him, tracing its outline with his shadowy eyes. Sleep had abandoned him, leaving him to absorb every sob, every whimper that fell from the lips he yearned for. She had been crying all night long, her muffled mewls dying in the stuffing of her pillows. His ears couldn’t keep from tuning into all the sounds of sorrow she made. It was fruitless, it was an endless pit of pity but he lie in it, motionless, awake. Unable to feel the comfort of the sheets caressing his bare skin, only ebbs of numbness coursed through his veins to the rhythm of his empty heartbeat. Listening to her grief, remaining stationary to its distress, was the worst kind of torture he had been forced to endure.

Three nights later, Damon smiled as he pressed his lips harder into Elena’s, letting the feelings of pleasure rush through his body at each meeting of their lips. He dipped down, nipping at the underside of her jaw. Elena giggled melodically and pushed him back.

“That tickles!” she squealed, squirming beneath him.

Damon smirked at her as she came down from her laughter, memorizing the way her features lit up at his touch. Lapis eyes sparkled as they met his, watching him watch her with that deep sense of awe he always reserved for her. With his middle finger, Damon traced the outline of her face, tucking strands of gold behind her ear. Elena shivered and closed her eyes to revel in his caress.

A soft gurgling, growl sound erupted from between them. Elena shot her eyes open, a light pink painting her cheeks as she gave Damon an apologetic smile.

Damon’s sultry chuckle filled her ears, “Hungry?”

Elena giggled softly, “Yeah. Would you mind grabbing me some cereal? I really have to start working on this paper.”

Damon slid from her and stood from the bed, “What kind?”

Downstairs, Eric’s lanky limbs wrapped around Bonnie’s small form, pulling her closer.

“You know, I can help you with more than just math, right?” his flirtatious tone brought a blush to her face.

Bonnie smiled, hearing Damon’s footsteps near the tip of the stairwell.

“Can you?” she challenged.

Eric smirked in his cute, goofy crookedness and dove for her lips. Bonnie fell into the motions with ease, letting him control the kiss as she leaned into it as much as she could. Eric’s fingers buried in her curls and some part of her winced, hating the way the foreign fingers felt tangling in her hair. But the footsteps had hit the bottom floor, and she took Eric’s face in her hands, urging him to continue. Enthusiastically, he deepened their kiss, tilting his head and sucking her lower lip into his mouth. The footsteps were close now, too close. Bonnie raked her fingers through Eric’s wild, blonde hair. The footsteps halted, but she only continued on, ignoring the tears that threatened to leak out from beneath her lashes. He deserved it. After all he had put her through. But still, she couldn’t bring herself to look up, to face his pain. The mere thought of it shattered her. The footsteps hurried on passed them with a stronger step, and the tears she had tried so hard to fight fell from her lashes. She yanked herself from Eric and turned, hastily wiping her tears.

Eric’s hand came to her shoulder, “Are you ok?”

Bonnie threw on her best friendly smile, “Yes! I’m fine. Just really happy.”

Eric’s smile widened tenfold.

Damon stormed into the kitchen, startling Meredith as she threw the thin stack of notes held in her hand. As the papers fluttered down around the table, her saucer eyes turned on him and then narrowed into slits at his irksome presence. She opened her mouth to spew swears at him, but she fell silent at his rushed movements.

Damon raced around the kitchen, flinging open the cabinet, grabbing a glass bowl, and slamming the cabinet shut. Meredith jolted at the loud snap of the wood against itself. Then he was at the counter, slamming the bowl down onto the granite. It shattered instantly, glass flying every which way as it smashed into pieces of all sizes.

Meredith’s eye’s grew wide once more, shifting from Damon to the counter top and back again as she waited for him to wince, or to curse, or…something! But he only stood deadly still, staring down intensely at the broken glass. Her brows furrowed softly as she looked on, waiting ages for him to react. His quiet was unnatural, and she could feel something building in him.

Meredith jumped as Damon abruptly raised his fist and began beating the broken shards of glass into the counter. Each heavy bang rattled in her ears as she watched him hammer into the counter. Her face screwed up in empathetic pain as she heard the shards of glass crush between his hand and the counter. Each raise of his fist looked worse and she grimaced at the sight of blood running down his arm as he lifted it for one final blow.

Damon huffed as he looked down at the glass, only seeing red, but not the scarlet substance that trickled from his slashed flesh.

Slowly, Meredith stood from her chair and took cautious steps towards Damon as he focused on the aftermath of his outburst. Carefully, she took hold of his blood arm and led him to the sink.

“Come on…” she began gently, “let’s get you cleaned up, ok?”

Watching his every move, she was surprised to see he made next to none she wasn’t guiding him into. His dark stare was wrathful beneath a low brow, his mind lost in rage-fueled thoughts as Meredith directed his bloody limb over the stainless steel sink.

“I’m just getting the glass out, ok?” Meredith told him in her most calm voice as she reached for the largest shard lodged into the side of his hand.

With a small tug, the shard barely budged. Meredith repositioned herself, getting a better grip on the large piece and bracing against his arm. She pulled hard, yanking the shard from his hand and revealing a laceration down to the bone. Damon hissed loudly, snapping from his vexed state as he grabbed the edge of the sink, nearly indenting it with his clean fingers.

Meredith held the jagged piece of glass proudly in between two fingers as she watched Damon’s wound slowly close back up. Blood dripped into the sink as his body began to push the shards of glass from his body and heal perfectly, leaving no trace of a scar. Meredith breathed a sigh of relief, thankful she would no longer be spending hours picking glass from his hand. Looking up to his profile, his glower remained as he examined his hand and rinsed it of leftover blood. Meredith’s brunette brows pulled as she noted his color, slightly paler.

Without a second thought, she reached up to his face and turned it towards her. Damon stared at her rather blankly as she studied the faint bags forming beneath his eyes. Exhaustion swirled in the depths of his jet-black gaze.

“Why aren’t you eating?” she questioned bluntly, studying either of his eyes as she held his chin tightly between clawed fingers.

Damon shoved her off lazily just as the kitchen door opened.

“What was all that noise about?” Bonnie’s exasperated tone burst into the silence.

She froze, seeing Damon drying his hand off with the dish towel. Immediately, her eyes caught the remnants of the bowl, smashed into pieces on the countertop, and all over the floor. She gulped as the overwhelming guilt pulled her under. Her heart tugged just like the night he had stopped talking to her. Unwanted cries caught in her throat as she tried hard to hold herself together.

Damon continued his race around the kitchen, grabbing a new bowl, pouring in cocoa puffs and milk, and then shoving a spoon in. He ignored her as he turned, walking right passed her. But Bonnie kept her eyes trained on him, feeling the air around her shift at his presence. The breath knocked from her lungs as his aura brushed hers, and all his anger, his sorrow, his _pain_ filled her. Pressing a hand flat to her chest, her heart raced beneath her palm as the door swung shut behind his exit. Tears welled in her chocolate orbs as she looked to Meredith who, for the first time, expressed uncertainty in the older Salvatore.


	11. Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay, life caught up with me. Haha! Anyway, this one's a pretty big one. Hope you all love it and thanks for the support! :)

The tension was palpable the following evening as Meredith sat on the floor between a very stiffly pretentious Elena and a petitely pouty Bonnie slouched beneath the largest window in the room. Emerald orbs shifted between the two silent girls as Meredith cleaned up the game of Uno that had only worsened the rift between the blonde and the redhead. Sighing audibly as she stuffed the deck of cards back into their case, Meredith studied the stack of games sitting on one of the shelves of her massive bookcase. Sorry? Eh, probably not best. Life—with college and marriage and…no. Monopoly! Definitely not! Meredith slumped back against the side of her bed, jostling the mattress. There had to be some way to dissolve this horrid tension filling up the bedroom with all kinds of negative energy. As tempting of a choice as killing Damon was, it wouldn’t fix anything. Well—not right away…

“So what are we doing next?” Elena asked with a tone somewhere between bored and annoyed.

Meredith snapped from her pondering over how to acquire a stake and thought hard, “Um…”

The only way to resolve this tension would be to confront it.

“Two truths and a lie! Something simple. Whoever guesses wrong five times has to order dessert!” Meredith announced, feeling clever as she perked up and crossed her legs. “I’ll go first! I…” she tossed green eyes to the ceiling, “I kissed Tom Perry in the 6th grade.”

This earned some giggles from the two tense friends as they recalled this story exactly. Meredith had come running to tell them afterwards only to be completely disgusted and vowing never to kiss another male until marriage.

“I know all the lyrics to an Eminem song. And I ate all of Elena’s ice cream when she left over the summer.” Meredith finished, smiling at her two friends.

Elena’s mouth hung agape while Bonnie giggled, covering her mouth with baby pink nails. Meredith only shrugged.

The blonde’s surprised broke into a laugh as she guessed first, “Um, I know you definitely did kiss Tom because I remember that happening. So…I’m going to go with my ice cream. It was missing when I came back. Glutton!” Elena chucked a small, decorative pillow at Meredith, who ducked and went into fits of laughter as she shook her head.

“It was Bonnie!” Meredith admitted through bouts of laughter.

Elena’s wide lapis eyes shot to her right at Bonnie, who blushed hard and sunk further into her corner.

“You told me you hated pistachio!”

Bonnie smiled apologetically, “Well, I thought I did. But then I tasted it and I found that I actually really like it.” Beneath Elena’s scrutinizing stare, she cracked, throwing her hands up, “It was the only dessert in the house, and I was on my period, ok?!”

A small smile tugged on Elena’s lips as she studied her nervous best friend, “Well…I know what I’m ordering for dessert.”

She stuck her tongue out playfully at Bonnie, earning a small giggle from the redhead. Meredith’s grin grew victorious as she studied the exchange between the two girls.

Meredith waved them off, “Ok, ok, that didn’t count! Your go!” she nodded toward Bonnie.

Bonnie straightened up a little, adjusting her blue hoodie. Fiddling with the ties of her sweatpants, she looked around the room as she thought, “Ok, um…I love pistachio ice cream.”

Elena giggled despite herself.

“Um…I won a hula hoop competition in 4th grade. And…Eric taught me how to skateboard.” She finished.

Elena and Meredith pondered between the latter of the two choices. They hadn’t really known the extents to which Bonnie had hung out with Eric, after all. Elena was fairly sure she knew Bonnie had been with Eric a little more than they thought she had been. At least, she assumed Bonnie had snuck out with Eric that one night, which is why she came back with the hickey…

 _Was_ that even true?

“Nah! I’m going with the skateboard thing. I don’t believe it! Especially not with your coordination.” Meredith teased.

Bonnie crossed her arms and huffed playfully.

Then again, Meredith didn’t even believe the Eric thing. Did Meredith know something she didn’t? Why was the Eric thing so far fetched? Maybe _she_ was the naïve one in the group…

Feeling anger simmering in her veins at the prospect of being made a fool, she guessed to distract herself, “Um, I think it’s the hula hoop competition. Meredith is right about you being uncoordinated.”

Bonnie smiled almost proudly, “Nope! I did win the hula hoop competition!” She threw a dainty finger out at Meredith, “Ha! I’m not as uncoordinated as you both seem to think!”

Meredith chuckled and held her hands up in apologetic fashion, “Ok, I’m actually impressed! We need to get another hula hoop after this because I _need_ to meet this coordinated Bonnie McCullough you speak of!”

Elena flashed a small smile, but her thoughts steered her away from the present. Of course Eric hadn’t taught her how to skateboard! Why would he have?! They didn’t spend enough time together…

“You’re turn Elena!” Meredith called, and Elena flinched from her drifting state of mind.

“Uh, yeah. Let me think…” she swiped her tongue along the top row of her teeth as she pondered on the intruding thoughts of Bonnie and Damon. She could feel the malice burning beneath her skin.

Sucking in a deep breath, the air wavered as it entered her lungs, “Matt once put his arm around someone that he thought was me in the store.”

Meredith and Bonnie both slapped their hands over their mouths in disbelief, either girl silently hoping that he hadn’t as much as they simultaneously hoped he had.

Elena had trouble finding the humor as she continued, “I dropped my phone in the toilet once. And…”

As both girls screwed up their faces in disgust, Elena pondered on the last sentence teetering in temptation on the tip of her tongue.

Opening her mouth soundlessly for a second, she failed to contain the hostility hoisting her words over the edge, “I let Damon go to second base the other night.”

Hearing a small gasp emit from her right, Elena trained her devious ocean orbs on her slender fingers with the French-tipped nails. Her teeth dug into the inside of her cheek as mixed emotions battling within her system, one rushing triumph and its subsequent pride to her lips while the other, guilt, stabbed at her heart.

Meredith’s gaze shot to Bonnie as the room fell completely silent, all remnants of laughter vaporized. The small redhead’s brown orbs filled with tears that glistened in the warm white glow of the bedroom. The pain painting her petite features was just as tangible as the prior tension enveloping the trio.

The brunette sighed heavily and looked back to Elena, still staring at her nails, “You dropped your phone in the toilet?”

Meredith’s gaze shifted back over to Bonnie, looking like she was doing everything in her power not to cry. “Bonnie?” she questioned softly.

Strawberry curls shook around her head as she refused to guess.

Meredith cast her eyes up to the ceiling for split second before returning them to Elena, “Well?” she spat.

“It was Matt…”

In her peripheral vision, Meredith could see Bonnie quickly wipe a tear away. She huffed as Elena finally glanced up at her.

“Ok…well do we want to keep going or just go ahead and—”

“No,” Bonnie’s small voice spoke up.

Both girls looked to her and she swallowed hard gaining strength despite the flush on her face revealing her weakness.

“We should keep playing…” her unstable tone sounded.

Meredith simply nodded, and continued on, attempting to salvage the evening, and their friendship. “Let’s see…I beat Alaric in his favorite Black-Ops games. I wore mismatched socks to campus the other day. I secretly hate when Alaric talks about history.”

The laughter that should’ve rang out in the room got suspended for small, humorless smiles among far away friends.

“The history one?” Elena guessed, giving a small shoulder shrug.

“The black-ops game.” Bonnie guessed blankly.

Meredith only shook her head, rubbing at her arm a little guiltily, “It’s actually the socks one.” She admitted nearly under her breath.

A smile broke across Elena’s lips and she reached over to smack Meredith’s leg, “No! You hate Alaric’s entire livelihood?!”

Meredith groaned, throwing her head back against her mattress, “I know, I know! It’s awful. It just gets so boring sometimes!”

“ _And_ you beat him at his favorite video game?!”

Meredith perked back up, “Ok, that one was pretty awesome!” her teeth glinted beneath a devious smile.

Elena’s laughter died down quickly as Bonnie’s turn came up and both friends awaited her choices. Bonnie cleared her throat as she sat straight up, looking more confident than she had all night long.

However, the breath she inhaled gave away her nerves, and Meredith winced inwardly, sharing her nervousness. She watched her smallest friend intently as she began her turn.

“I failed my first college math class.”

Meredith’s brows cinched with concern as she watched the flush of Bonnie’s face spread around her eyes, reddened them in preparation of tears.

Taking the cuff of her hoodie, Bonnie dabbed at a stray tear rolling down her cheek and proceeded, “I slept with Eric.”

Meredith’s entire body froze as her heart began to pound. Elena seemed to be doing the same, except a small smile was apparent on part of her lips at the possibility. Both pairs of eyes, green and blue, watched intently, waiting anxiously for her last sentence. Bonnie gulped, pulling at the sleeves of her hoodie.

“I s-slept with Damon…” she whispered, barely holding herself together as her heart cycled from guilt to jealousy until her stomach churned with nausea.

Meredith’s cat eyes shot to Elena, visibly shaking with anger? Sadness? She couldn’t quite decipher which was winning as Elena’s oceanic orbs swirled with an array of negative emotions. She could almost hear the blonde’s teeth grinding.

Out of the dead silence, Elena’s malicious laughter echoed, short and joyless, “Well I know which one’s the lie!” she announced, feigning half her confidence.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she forced her muscles to relax as she slouched back, “You didn’t sleep with Damon.”

Bonnie’s watery orbs only shifted to Meredith, revealing soundless secrets through the pregnant pause.

Pressing her lips into a hard line, Meredith smacked them apart and shrugged, “I don’t think my guess matters at this point…”

Elena turned an exasperated gaze onto her dark-haired friend, panic storming in choppy lapis waters.

Bonnie looked up at Elena, allowing her best friend to see the truth in her pain as she smiled through it, “Eric and I have only ever kissed…”

“You’re such a liar! You’re just trying to get back at me because you’re jealous that he picked _me!”_ Elena burst, getting up onto her knees as her fingers nearly punched holes through her palms.

Bonnie swallowed hard once again, more tears escaping her careful walls as Meredith stared at the ceiling with one hand in her hair.

“Damon would never sleep with you!” the seething blonde shouted, tears streaming down her face.

Pressing her palms into the hardwood floor, she leaned over her knees towards Elena, “Two days before you came back, Elena! Two. _Days.”_

Her chest rocked with the weight of her breaths, “We kissed. You knew that. But it wasn’t just that. We weren’t just _that!”_

“You think this is hard to hear?! Trying to pull him from me is like pulling the air from my lungs! And I can never catch my breath! It just hurts _all_ the time!”

The two girls looked into one another’s teary gazes, one storming with betrayal, the other drowning in agony, neither able to reconcile with the other.

A choked sob erupted from Bonnie lips, “I’ll n-never be able to e-erase him from me, Elena!” An involuntary inhale caught in her throat, “H-He’s my e-everything…” she cried into her hands.

Elena swallowed all the insults, all the curses, all the tears threatening to explode from her throat at once. Clenching her fists tighter, her entire frame trembled and she broke down, crumbling to the floor in sobs.

Overwhelming waves of guilt crashed through Bonnie, tearing her fragile heart apart and leaving the fragments to float in the grief that filled her soul. Pushing off from the floor, she ran, not able to leave the room fast enough.

“Bonnie!” Meredith called after her, shooting up from the floor to go after her. She slowed to a halt as she heard the petite girl’s sobs fade down the long hallway.

Dropping her arms back to her sides, she turned back to Elena, falling to pieces on her bedroom floor.

“Oh, Elena…” she whined, kneeling down and taking up the broken blonde in her arms.

Gently, she ran a hand along her friend’s satin strands of silver, comforting her in the best way she knew how. Elena embraced her tightly, crying into her shoulder.

“How could Bonnie do this to me?!” she bawled.

Meredith sighed, “Elena—Elena listen to me…”

Pushing the blonde back from her shoulder, Meredith took the white sleeve of her t-shirt and dabbed under her lapis eyes.

“It was wrong for you to have found out this way. It was,” She pet Elena tenderly with one hand.

“But before you get upset with anyone, please just remember that this happened before you came back, alright? You weren’t here. Damon didn’t know you were coming back. Neither did Bonnie. It’s not fair to condemn people for developing a relationship in your absence…”

Elena’s sobs quieted to soft sniffles as she took in Meredith’s advice and nodded.

“I know it’s hurtful, and they shouldn’t have lied to you about it. But what’s done is done, and it wasn’t meant out of animosity towards you.” Meredith let out a heavy breath, “Whether you like it or not, Elena…you hold no claim over Damon or his actions. Even now. You said yourself you weren’t ready to date yet. And I know you want him all to yourself, anyone would, but the truth is he doesn’t belong to you, or to Bonnie, or to anybody.”

Elena bowed her head, squeezing her eyes shut and letting the remainder of her tears stroll down her cheeks.

“But before you keep up this fight, remember to stop and think about yourself, because whatever feelings Damon has for Bonnie aren’t going to be easy to break, Elena. I know Damon is trying hard for you now, but it’s hurting him more than I think you want it to. I just—I want you to protect yourself because honestly this isn’t healthy, for you or Bonnie…”

Elena nodded, “I hear you.” Shoving Meredith’s hand from her head, she wiped her nose on the sleeve of her burgundy sweater, “But I’m fine, and Damon is with me now anyway.”

Meredith sighed long and hard through her nose as Elena stood up straight and carried herself prestigiously passed her and out of the minimalistic style bedroom. Rolling her eyes, she both cursed and applauded Elena for her conviction. It was unbreakable, but, unfortunately, she was not.

Bonnie’s footsteps slowed to a steady, deliberate pace. Sopping up the remainder of her tears on her sleeve, she raised one fist and knocked at the heavy, mahogany door.

The door opened slightly, revealing a shirtless Damon, toned legs clad in fitted sweatpants. Raising one arms above his head, he rested his forearm against the door’s frame, leaning into it casually.

Bonnie made no attempt to gawk or to explain or to even bother acknowledging him at all; she was in no mood. Instead, she invited herself in wordlessly, ducking slightly to sneak underneath his arm. Barging into the dim room, she made a beeline for the bed, crawling onto its massive midnight sheath and placing herself right in its center, knees pulled to her chest. A few more tears dripped from her eyes and she wiped them against her forearm.

Damon shut the door behind him, dark eyes trained on the intruding redhead. Brows knitting together, he dropped his hand from the doorknob and slowly stalked towards her, studying her with each step closer.

Legs inches from the foot of the bed, Damon crossed his arms over his chest, “Want to explain, maybe?” His head tilted to the side, shadowy gaze examining each and every move her body made.

A small sniff was all her heard from her, and she turned her head, dragging her cheek against her sweatshirt to dry it.

“I thought we weren’t talking anymore…” she mumbled, voice muffled by her arm.

Damon narrowed his eyes, “You’re on my bed— _uninvited_ —curled up in a ball. I feel like some talking is required…”

Her cheek lie squished against her arm, and she sniffed again, making no effort to move or even to speak. Damon waited in their silence, patience running thin as he stared at her, listening—watching for any kind of response.

With a huff, he uncrossed his arms and leaned far over the bed, locking his hands around her ankles. A small squeak emanated from her lips as he yanked, dragging her down to the edge of the bed where he stood. Releasing her ankles, he let her feet drop towards the floor as her short legs dangled over the edge of the mattress. The tears streaming slowly down either of her flushed cheeks caught the dull, yellow light from a lamp in the corner of his room. Propping a hand at the side of her legs, Damon leaned down to her eye level, hovering close to her as he examined every facet of her face. Tear tracks stained her cheeks, her eyes were red-rimmed, her lips were puffy, and the tip of her small nose was raw from endless wiping of it. Her wet eyes looked everywhere but his face, settling on the dresser passed him. Reaching up with his free hand, he touched the backs of his fingers to the apple of her cheek just as another tear fell. He glided the long digits along her face, erasing the lingering droplets and tracing his thumb around the shell of her ear.

“What happened?” his gentle voice rumbled low.

Bonnie shivered at his touch just as it left her face. Balancing on the balls of his feet, Damon knelt down in front of her, crossing his arms over her lap and resting his chin there. He looked up at her, providing her his undivided attention. Her face twisted up in more pain and soft cries fell from her lips. She reached up to her eyes, the cuffs of her sleeves half covering her petite hands. Before she could make contact with her face, Damon’s hands were around hers, pulling them down to her lap where he held onto them tight.

“Talk to me…” he coaxed in that same gentle tone.

Sucking in s shaky breath, “I miss you…” Bonnie’s soft voice caressed his eardrums.

Damon sighed long, pressing his forehead to her knees, “I know, baby…” he massaged circled into her hands.

One hand left his and then her fingers were in the back of his hair, twirling the strands, raking along his scalp…

Some part of his brain spun at the contact and he reached up to recapture her straying fingers with his own, dragging her hand from his raven locks and bringing them back to the safe place at her lap.

“What else?” he sighed.

“I—” Bonnie choked on a small cry, swallowing it hard down her throat, “I don’t want you to be with Elena…”

Damon let the statement linger in the silence between them for a moment, squeezing her hands tighter. “And?” he pressed, knowing there was more to be said. Some part of him knew what she was about to say next, but precognition couldn’t prepare him for its delivery.

Bonnie’s body trembled beneath him, and then he heard her, not aloud, but in his head…

 _I love you_ , Her nerves evident through her projection.

Damon shook his head against her legs and groaned loudly as his hand shifted upward to grasp her forearms. Large tears pooled in Bonnie’s chocolate irises, as she heard Damon’s sultry chuckle parading a circus in her ears.

His grip tightened, fingers digging into her soft flesh, “Don’t do that to me…”

“What?” Bonnie’s voice quivered, on the edge of a total breakdown.

“You want to hear me say it back to you, do you not?”

“Say what to me?” Bonnie challenged.

A smirk shot across Damon’s lips as he snickered at her persistence. Black eyes met brown as he lifted his head from her lap, “Telling you how I feel isn’t going to change anything between Elena and I, you know that.”

Bonnie bit down into her lip, hiding the hysterics playing just beneath her skin, “Then what’s the harm of saying it? Just this once?”

Taking her arms from his hold, she clasped her shaky hands together under her chin and jutted her lip out in a half-feigned pout, “Please?”

Damon clasped his much larger hands around her intertwined ones and shook his head slowly as he brought them down from under her chin, “Redbird, look at the situation we’re in right now—you, me, Elena—does that not tell you anything at all?”

His gaze flickered between both of her soft, brown orbs, staring intently at him with a little ‘o’ puckering her lips. Falling to his knees, he straightened up and pushed himself between her knees. Desirous digits dove into her hair, palms cupping her face and drawing it closer to his, “You _know_ how I feel about you.”

Reaching up to catch his hands, Bonnie nuzzled her face deeper into his touch, holding his hand there in hopes he wouldn’t pull away.

“But I don’t…” she whispered.

Damon stifled a sound threatening to open up his torment to her and swallowed it back down. He pulled back from her, dropping his hands back to her lap.

“Why else did you come here?” he asked through a strained tone, changing the subject. “What has you so upset?” he added.

Pushing her fingers between Damon’s, Bonnie shook her head, “You’ll hate me…”

A snort of humorless laughter left Damon’s breath, “I get _really_ angry with you sometimes, love. You are a handful. But hating you is _not_ something I’m capable of…”

Watery brown gems looked into Damon’s, “What about loving me?” Bonnie half joked with a small smile, another tear slipping down her face.

Tears rimmed Damon’s obsidian orbs as he gave a short, breathy laugh, and then cracked. Lifting off his knees, Damon stood back on his feet and took the redhead up in his arms. Bonnie wrapped herself around him automatically, her body molding to his naturally as he brought them both onto the bed and pinned her beneath him. Damon moaned into the crook of her neck as she buried her fingers in his hair. Her tense body relaxed at the comfort of his weight pressing her into the mattress. Hooking one leg over his hip, she ran her foot along the length of his leg as he nestled his thigh in between either of hers. All the tears in her heart began to mend, and tears leaked from the corners of her eyes as she crushed him against her. Damon’s muscles stiffened, but only to pull their bodies closer as he reveled in the intoxicating scent only she carried.

As they lay in his bed, a knock sounded at the door, throwing a spear in their comfortable silence. Damon began to peel himself from Bonnie, but she only clung to him.

“No, no…” she muttered in his ear, using all her strength to keep her arms locked around his neck.

Damon halted, resting his forehead to hers, “Redbird, I have to answer the door…please don’t cry…” his voice wavered, choking on his own sorrows.

As her soft sobs began again, she reluctantly let Damon go, whimpering while her heart throbbed painfully at his departure. She wrapped her arms around herself, holding the fragments together against their will.

Damon glanced back at her almost apologetically as he rushed toward his door and turned the knob.

“Elena, can we please talk later?” Damon asked exhaustedly.

“Is Bonnie here?” she asked, ignoring him.

Damon’s brow scrunched. It was then he noticed her features, looking nearly the same as Bonnie’s, wet and puffy, but more closed off.

Sensing his confusion, Elena elaborated, “We had a fight.”

Damon’s brow only screwed up more, “Over what?”

Elena stared directly into his eyes, unafraid as she wordlessly let him know she knew more than he thought. Damon’s inky orbs slowly swirled in understanding as hints of worry and curiosity trickled in, darkening the black until it blended with the night.

“We need to talk.” Elena stated, and Damon was sure that “no” wasn’t going to be an option.

“Fine, as soon as I get Bonnie back to her roo—”

Something hostile flashed over Elena’s face and she huffed impatiently, “No! Bonnie can make it to her own room. We’re talking now!”

Jaw clenched and eyes narrowing, Damon swallowed hard, hiding the guilt building in anticipation. But still, Bonnie’s soft cries screamed at him as each one hit the ears unknowingly tuned to her. It was unbearable.

Taking a calming breath, Damon flashed a fake smile and continued, “We will talk tonight, _after_ I get Bonnie to her room.”

Elena shouted, balling up her hands into fists at her sides, “I don’t want you taking Bonnie anywhere! We talked about thi—”

“I can’t concentrate with her crying, Elena! It’s all I fucking hear!” Damon burst in a fit of rage, gesturing around him in short, sharp movements.

Elena flinched back from his anger, his words stinging her more than his tone. Blinking a few times, her lividness drained as she stared up at Damon rather speechlessly.

Damon’s wrath began to fade as his heaving chest calmed, “If you want to talk, then I need to be able to listen, right?”

Elena swallowed back her tears and nodded, letting her lapis jewels drop to her feet.

With a long exhale, Damon retreated back into the depths of his room and scooped Bonnie up in his arms. Cradling her against him, he strode passed Elena, catching her glance as he flashed her a stern eye. A light pink colored her cheeks as she tucked golden strands behind one ear, feeling like a scolded child.

In the hallway, echoes of Elena’s soft cries touched his ears, and he winced inwardly. As he carried the mess he had made of the bubbly redhead, he reprimanded himself for falling in love with either of these beautiful women. Passing Meredith’s door, it cracked open as she stepped out. The blazing emerald stare he received was scathing as she frowned disapprovingly. Quickly, he focused his gaze back onto the upcoming door, too stressed to endure a talking to from the mother of the group tonight. Moving with haste, he bent down, opened Bonnie’s door, and carried her inside, kicking the wooden slab shut behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Damon's a dick, as always. It's just so fun to write for Damon, and it was the perfect opportunity to play with compulsion. Anyway, I'm sure you all have some curiosities/questions about what exactly happened between Damon and Bonnie. You will definitely get those answers in time.  
> Also, how are we feeling about the use of "baby" from Damon to Bonnie?? My mental Damon voice simply would NOT let me use any of his usual terms of endearment there. "Baby" just felt right, and I actually kinda love it. It was just so sexy in that moment. But let me know your thoughts!
> 
> See you soon for chapter 2! ;)


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